In the Nick of Time
by pretty-ok
Summary: Nick and Judy are drawn into an investigation of one of Zootopia's fiercest crime families. Through action and mystery, their skills will be put to the test. Plus Wildehopps. Rated M for all the reasons. Cover image courtesy of felisfurticus on tumblr.
1. The Shootout

Gerald Riverson hunched against the worn brick wall as bullets whizzed by him on either side, through the open doorway on his left, and the now shattered window to his right. He cringed as the wall shuddered from a burst of automatic fire raking right across his position. The giraffe's long arms squeezed a little tighter against his side, clutching the trusty elephant tranquilizer dart gun that all ZPD officers carried as sidearms. He was woefully outgunned.

On the other side of the doorway, his partner, Derek Leatherback, grunted and slumped a little lower against the wall. The big rhino's breaths came in a pained wheeze as blood trickled from the four red pinpricks that seemed to have cut through his kevlar vest with no trouble at all. His mass seemed to have saved him from immediate death, but he was in no condition to fight.

Gerald's head snapped away from his partner as more shots rang around him from multiple directions. Over the commotion he could hear a voice yelling at unseen mammals to head around the side door. He took a deep breath, then carefully leaned away from the wall, slightly enlarging his view into the warehouse. He caught sight of two rams making a beeline for the far wall, and quickly pulled up his dart gun. He dropped one while the other dove behind a crate upon hearing the quiet _whut-whut-whut_ of the darts hitting his friend or whizzing by him. The deafening cacophony of return fire he drew made him thankful that while the strange rounds these criminals had might cut through kevlar like butter, they had no such luck with the stout brick walls.

He looked up and said a silent prayer that backup would arrive soon. And be fit for the job. He knew the fearsome organized crime unit, Leopold's Lions (so christened after former Mayor Lionheart's anti-crime initiative) often patrolled this area…

* * *

"Carrots, for the love of God I'm begging you!" shouted Nick, his hand darting towards her phone, connected to the all important aux cord. "If I have to listen to another Tailfur Swift song I think I'm going to die!"

"Didn't your mother ever teach you any manners? No grabbing!" giggled the bunny in the driver's seat, the cruiser taking a dangerous trip into the opposing lane as she jerked away from Nick. "Just say the magic word and it's all yours."

Nick sighed as his ears bent back in annoyance. "May I _pleeeeeease_ have your phone, Officer Fluff?" he said, emphasizing his displeasure before allowing the hint of a smile to creep across his face.

"Of course you may, Officer Wilde," Judy said with a smirk. Just as Nick gleefully took her phone in his palm, he was interrupted by the squawk of the radio.

" _All units be advised. We have a 10-108 at Bush and Rawlson. All units respond."_

"Pfff 10-108, what's that one Carrots, cat stuck in a tree?" Nick smirked, not noticing the color rapidly draining from Judy's face. "Carrots, what's wrong?"

"Nick!" Judy shouted, regaining her focus. "10-108 is an officer down or in danger, this is serious!"

"Looks like we've got some police work to do then," Nick said as he nonchalantly flipped the siren on, but she noticed his ears tilt back a little. Judy looked ahead, then gunned the cruiser forwards, nearly drifting through the intersection as she pulled a sharp left onto Bush Boulevard. "We might be the first ones on the scene, you know. Be ready."

Nick merely nodded in acknowledgement, but she saw his ears drooping even lower. While this would be the first time since the Missing Mammals case that either of them would be in serious danger, Nick was only six weeks out of the academy, whereas she now had months of police work under her belt.

As Judy sped through another intersection, her ears perked at what could be nothing other than the cracks and thuds of gunfire. She gulped a little, and immediately struggled to stop herself and keep a determined look on her face. She had to be strong for Nick.

 _What? What was that just now?_

 _Uhh. I- uhh- mean… I have to support my partner!_

 _Yeah. Sure._

 _What? No. We're just good friends and I-_

"Carrots! CARROTS!"

Judy shook her head and refocused on the road. In front of her was a small crowd of mammals gathering near an open gateway in a brick wall. Besides the gate was an empty ZPD cruiser. The gunshots were much louder now.

She brought the cruiser to a quick stop, and hopped out, nodding to Nick. She approached the crowd, and shouted, "ZPD! Everyone stand back and take cover!" She looked totally in control, but Nick had picked up a whiff of fear before she jumped out of the car.

 _What a woman._

 _Huh? What? Look, now is not the time._

With that Nick cut off his reverie and fished a small key out of his utility belt. While ZPD officers carried tranquilizer darts as their standard sidearm, a big part of the effort to make the police seem less like predator thugs that had occurred two decades ago, every squad car was equipped with real guns in case of emergency. Although Nick and Judy were far too small for the rifles the other officers carried, they had been given two Hyena and Koch MP5 submachine guns, whose smaller frames and lessened recoil suited the pair. Withdrawing the two guns, making sure to keep the scratched up one in his left paw for Judy, he ran up to her outside the gate.

* * *

Despite his initial fears, Nick felt supremely calm now. His ears stood straight up, twitching in the direction of each new sound; his nose was working overtime, picking up the smells of horses, rams, deer, and a gazelle. His muzzle hung open, teeth bared and tongue panting, eyes narrowed under a furrowed brow. In an orange flash he popped up over the windowsill, trained his weapon on a cowering deer his keen eyes clearly picked out in the darkness and _crack crack crack_ the deer crumpled against the crate he had hunched against. Three shots to center mass, Ursula would be proud.

' _What a mammal,'_ Judy marveled as he popped back into cover, just below a hail of return fire. His raw, predatory instinct to kill was on full display, and it was awing both her and the giraffe who was on the other side of Nick. His muzzle curled into a vicious, toothy grin, and her ears picked up groans as a mammal slumped onto the ground somewhere in the warehouse. It was terrifying, but it also stirred something else within her...

 _Oh no, not again. Not now!_

Nick sniffed the air again, and noticed another smell drifting from Judy. One he knew only from once several weeks ago when she had confided to him that she was in heat. He turned his muzzle towards her and winked. "Like what you see Hopps?"

Judy's ears burned bright pink and shot down behind her head. Thankfully, before she had to respond officers Delgato and Wolford sprinted into position on the other side of the door. She noticed a similarly fearsome look to Nick's on the two predators' muzzles, although less pronounced.

"Hopps! Wilde! The McHorns are two blocks away and TUSK is five minutes out! Just stay in cover!" roared Delgato.

Judy was about to learn that today was opposite day.

"Cover me!" Nick yelled to the stunned officers, spraying a burst across the warehouse as he ran towards the nearest crates for cover. "Come on, Hopps!" he called over his shoulder as the stunned cops opened up with semi-automatic rifle fire towards the rough locations of the criminals. To the dismay of the mammals in the warehouse, the crates offered poor cover from the large rifle rounds fired by the two predators. They and Nick both smelled fresh blood pooling across the room as Judy slid to a stop next to Nick, both afraid and electrified.

As they braced themselves for return fire, the McHorn brothers slammed through the side door, opening up against the exposed flanks of the mammals who found their situation increasingly dismal.

Nick leaned out, his head snapping towards a ram running for new cover as the McHorns ducked back into cover. He was raising his MP5 when Judy tackled him to the floor.

"Wha-" Nick began _ratta-tat-tat-tat-tat_ twenty bullets filled the space Nick's upper body had occupied a moment ago. Judy and Nick both craned their heads up, scrambling for their weapons as an angry horse glared at them before moving back into cover.

Judy's ears twitched. "He's reloading," she whispered, and Nick told himself to thank her if they made it out alive. He motioned forwards and the two quietly rushed up to the other side of the stack of crates most of the remaining criminals seemed to be behind. They heard hooves attempting to surreptitiously move across the concrete floor, then car doors being yanked open. Judy keyed her radio, "all units, vehicles preparing to leave from the east end of the building!"

"When'd they get so close!" shouted one of the rams frantically.

"Hopps! Wilde! Now!" bellowed Wolford as he and Delgato sprinted up each edge of the warehouse, popping off a few rounds towards the east wall. The McHorns reappeared in the doorway only to immediately duck back from bullets whizzing by them.

Nick and Judy edged around the crates as the same horse finished firing at the McHorns and slipped into a car, which immediately burned rubber out the open back door. Nick took a knee and fired off a burst at the nearest car, bursting its rear-right tire. The large SUV careened into a wall in the alley behind the warehouse as the other two cars swerved onto the street and disappeared.

Nick and Judy leaned against a conveniently sized crate and surveyed the aftermath of the shootout. The rhino had been taken away by EMTs a few minutes ago, and his partner was being debriefed by a medic. Delgato and the TUSK officers were loading the mammals from the car Nick had stopped into a paddy wagon. Some detectives from the organized crime squad were examining the rifles left by the fleeing mammals, along with a score more and thousands of rounds of ammo in the SUV. Newly arrived officers were being drafted into cordoning the area off from the arriving media vans and photographers. They turned their heads towards the familiar sound of hooves making heavy contact with the ground.

"I want you two in conference room 17 in 45 minutes," Bogo intoned without even looking at them, his eyes locked on the SUV ahead of him. Nick and Judy looked at each other with confused expressions, before Judy snapped up to a salute.

"We'll be there, Chief!"

Nick couldn't help but notice how the bunny's tail bobbed as she hopped up to attention. He quickly shook his head to dispel these thoughts.

 _She's your partner, dumbass._

 _But remember how she looked at me during the shootout?_

 _It was the heat of the moment, she was-_

 _Do you remember how she_ _ **smelled?**_

 _She could be in heat agai-_

 _She didn't smell like that before._

 _Touché_ _._

Nick's thoughts continued like this, and he and Judy drove back to the station in relative silence. When they arrived at the parking lot, he realized he was still cradling his submachine gun in his arms.

 _That explains all those stares on the way back…_

He put the gun back into the armory and resealed it, jumping out of the cruiser to follow Judy into the precinct.

"What do you think Bogo has planned for us now, Nick?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say old Buffalo Butt finally decided to give us a real job and put us on whatever this crime case is." Nick's trademark smirk froze and his eyes went wide as his partner shot several feet into the air.

"YIPPPPPEEEEEE! We're finally gonna work a real case!" Judy cheered as she danced around Nick, who remained calm as he strolled into the ZPD lobby. She calmed down and fell back in beside him. "Aren't you excited at all?" she asked while giving Nick a familiar hip check.

"Just over the moon," Nick drawled in his best monotone. Then, feeling a little friskier than usual after the events at the warehouse, he checked her back, sending the bunny careening into Clawhauser's desk. Nick winced. He needed to remember how much smaller she was than him. "Guess I don't know my own strength, huh Carrots?" Nick said nervously as she got up. Just as she was about to lunge at him for revenge, Clawhauser leaned over the desktop.

"Ooooooo, looks like Officer Abusive Relationship finally got a taste of her own medicine," the big cheetah said, his enormous cheeks dripping over the two arms that propped them up.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Judy quizzed him, turning her scorn away from Nick.

"I mean, almost every time I see you two you're punching him in the arm or elbowing his ribs. It was only a matter of time before that big, scary predator let loose," Clawhauser said with a cheery grin. "Just kidding, Judy. But seriously, if I didn't know better I'd think you were a school kit who didn't know how to express a crush." The twinkle in his eye seemed to suggest that he knew exactly _better._

Judy's ears folded along her back, blushing bright pink. "I don't uh know what uh you're talking about, you big oaf."

 _God, could I have fumbled that harder? I could have done better if I literally stuck my foot in my mouth in response._

 _At least Nick would see how flexible you are._

 _NOT. NOW._

Her ears attempted to fuse into her back with embarrassment.

"I uh mean uh-"

"How about we head over to the conference room, eh Fluff? Bogo seemed pretty insistent back at the warehouse," Nick added helpfully, steering the stuttering bunny away from the dispatcher's desk. He took a deep breath in and reveled in the scent of horny bunny, utterly satisfied with how the whole experiment had gone.

* * *

 **Author's note: Hey guys! This is my first time writing a fanfic, or really doing much of any creative writing, so constructive criticism and feedback is much appreciated. Also I guess there isn't really much I can do if you want to shit on it, but at least tell me why, okay? The goal of the story going forward is going to be balancing fun scenes, fluff, and smut with an action-packed crime thriller. Overly ambitious? Probably. But that won't stop me from trying. I can only write the story I want to write, and I so far haven't really seen anything quite like what I'm envisioning. Maybe that's a bad sign 'cuz it just means it's unpopular. Oh well.**

 **P.S. Expect references to some of my favorite fan works, like TGWeaver's comics (which I believe are the origin of the idea of Nick smelling Judy's arousal, at least the first place I saw it), the phenomenal** _ **Instincts**_ **by EllipsisEndquote, and the mother of all Wildehopps stories,** _ **The Fox and the Rabbit**_ **by ShippingMammals.**


	2. Beginnings

Judy reached up and opened the door to the conference room. The inside revealed a room similar in size and layout to the bullpen that Chief Bogo held his morning meetings in. Scattered across several desks around the room lounged five mammals wearing clothes generally in the theme of slacks and a collared shirt, with or without tie. A boar with coarse grey fur and a scar across his left eye sat nearest to the door. He leaned back in his chair, with a double, leather shoulder holster hung over one corner. A cheetah, much thinner than Clawhauser, sat next to him, an alert look on his face. He looked like a junior partner, and like he had put a lot more effort into getting ready than his rather unkempt senior. The next desk over contained a lone female panther, who distractedly filed her claws.

 _She's making them sharper,_ Judy realized with a brief shudder, eyeing Nick's own claws. He noticed, smirking at her.

Behind the pantheress were another pair, two timber wolves, one male, and one female. They dressed nearly identically, their thick fur puffing out of the ends of their white shirts, khakis covering their short legs. Each had a pistol in a shoulder holster, and a brimmed hat hung off the edge of the male's chair.

At the front of the room stood a tall ibex, his long horns curving out through holes in the wide brimmed hat on his own head. He wore a long trench coat that appeared to be straight out of a bad spy movie; he even had a newspaper rolled up and peeking up out of one pocket as if he were getting ready to sit on a park bench and suspiciously stare at people.

Nick was taken aback by the whole scene. It looked like the whole room had walked out of one of the cheesy detective movies his dad had liked to watch when he was little, and then colorized itself. As he grasped for words, the Ibex turned towards the pair.

"Ah, you must be Officers Hopps and Wilde. Inspector Silas Young at your service. Welcome to Precinct 1's very own Organized Crime Squad."

"A pleasure, sir," Judy said eagerly, reaching to grab the ibex's outstretched hoof. Nick followed suit, still a little wide-eyed at the whole scene.

"You awright, kid?" grunted the boar.

"I just didn't think we were here to take Al Capybara to Alpacatraz," Nick replied, defaulting to his usual, sarcastic self. Judy almost punched him before realizing what she was doing.

"I think what my partner means, is that we are honored to be allowed to work this case with you, _isn't that right, Nick?_ " She gritted out the last words, struggling with her urge to hit him, and the thoughts that the conversation with Clawhauser had unleashed.

Nick sniffed the air, and merely grinned in response. He thought he saw the wolves glance at each other, detecting the smell but not knowing what it was. He opened his mouth to respond, when the ibex cleared his throat and all eyes turned to the front of the room. Nick was surprised to see how the grizzled veterans seemed to show the slight mammal just as much, if not more, deference than the imposing Bogo.

"I believe Detective Truffler merely wished to extend his warmest welcome. As to the matter of the case, as you have now seen first-hand, we have a big problem. Precinct 5's OCS had been investigating rumors of new weapons being imported by the docks. We now know roughly what they're capable of: sabot rounds that can slice through body armor, although they don't do well with thicker materials like brick or cement walls.

"Normally, this would still be left to Precinct 5, but the appearance of a horse at the shootout points towards involvement with the Ney family. For your benefits, Officers Hopps and Wilde, I will sum this up by saying, this is now a concern for every precinct from the docks to the Meadowlands. The Ney family have ruthless control up there, and if they are trying to expand into either weapons trafficking or new territory, it's bad news for us.

"You will be assisting us since we are already stretched thin, and Chief Bogo has assured me that you are some of his best officers. You have the rest of the day off to recover after the shootout, but I expect you here at 8 o'clock sharp tomorrow morning for your first assignments."

"Yes, sir! We won't let you down, sir!" chirped Judy. Nick facepawed.

"No need for formalities here, just call me Silas. Actually, formalities... Hmm... Don't wear your uniforms anymore, as you don't want mammals to immediately peg you as cops if you're investigating a lead. But try and do a little better than a t-shirt and shorts, alright? We take pride in our appearance here."

"Sure thing, Silas! I can finally live out my fantasy of being an accountant!" Nick mocked. This time Judy couldn't help but elbow him in the ribs. "Ah! Watch it, Carrots. Those are my modeling ribs."

"You'll find that if you dress and act respectable, people tend to treat you that way, chief," the gravelly voice of the boar answered as the pair exited the room. After the door closed, he spoke again, "I like them already. Good chemistry is important for detective work, eh Allen?"

"I don't know; the fox seems like a bit of an ass. They say he acquitted himself excellently at the warehouse, though," replied the cheetah next him.

"They remind me a lot of us, 'sept the bunny's prettier 'n you," laughed the boar.

"You'll find a lot of people are capable of incredible things when the one they love is in danger," Silas remarked.

"You sure they're in love, Silas? That's a big claim, having known them for all of three minutes," said the pantheress.

"I agree with Silas, Maggie. I caught a whiff of something when they first came in. Now that I think about it, and how the fox responded, that was definitely the smell of a turned-on bunny." The female wolf looked over to the pantheress to see how she would reply.

"I guess I'll defer to your expertise, Jenny. But how'd you know, Silas?"

"I didn't get to be an inspector without some good detective work and intuition, you know. Plus, I always talk to Bogo, Internal Affairs, and most importantly Clawhauser before I work with anyone new. It was mostly Clawhauser, but seeing them in the fur confirmed my suspicions."

"You think they know yet?"

"That I can't quite say."

#

The sun was hanging low in the sky when Nick and Judy exited the ZPD after finishing their reports on the shoot out that morning.

"What say you and me get some grub, eh Carrots? I'm famished," asked Nick, smirk on face.

"Oooo! I know! Let's go to Dave's Diner!" Judy hopped with excitement.

"You are _so cute_ when you do that." Nick let a genuine smile escape his muzzle as he flicked open his aviators and laid them on his snout.

"You're dangerously close to breaking your weekly cute-quota, Mr. And it's only Tuesday!" Judy tried to keep a stern expression on her face, but soon she and Nick were both giggling.

"You know Dave's is right next to my place," he said.

"Maybe that's why I picked it," she almost purred.

"Sly bunny."

"Dumb fox."

#

ZNN was on the corner TV as the partners dug into their usual meals. They had made such a habit of coming here that Dave had added a Nick and Judy special to the Plates for Two section. Normally they would have been ribbing each other about it, but something made that seem inappropriate this time. Both their ears perked up as the announcer began talking about the shootout at the warehouse.

" _Hero cops do it again! The dynamic duo Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde took a prominent role in today's deadly shootout at an old import warehouse by the docks. After officers on a routine patrol became involved in a deadly firefight, Officers Hopps and Wilde were the first on the scene to offer backup. Officer Wilde is said to have displayed extraordinary courage and skill, killing one criminal and assisting in the capture of several others. Without his quick thinking, many more officers may have been hurt, although one, Officer Derek Leatherback is currently at Zootopia General in critical condition. We now go to Chief Bogo for comments…"_

Judy turned away from the TV and noticed that Nick was staring silently at his food. His ears pointed back behind his head, and all trace of a smile or even a smirk were gone from his muzzle. Judy stood up and leaned across the table to grab his paw, which no longer held the knife he had been using with such gusto.

"Nick, what's wrong? Talk to me."

"It's nothing, Fluff. I'm just pretty full is all. I'd better head home; we've got a big day tomorrow!" He managed to first reset his smirk and even grin at the end, but Judy watched his eyes. She had spent long enough staring at those two emeralds that she was beginning to be able to read them. And right now they said, "I'm not ok. Help me!"

"Nonsense, Nick. I'm not letting you go home alone to mope about whatever's bothering you. We're watching a bad movie and you're gonna tell me all about it."

Nick sighed. "Fine, but I'm picking the movie. And _you_ have to make the popcorn!" With that he let out a real smile, and got up to cover their bill at the register by the door. Judy jumped up on a barstool and flew over his head.

"No way, my treat tonight!" she yelled while landing deftly before the register. The eponymous bear leaned forwards to grab the cash from the bunny's outstretched paw, and Nick made the mistake of looking at his partner while he walked towards the register. Since she was standing up on her toes, the muscles throughout her shapely legs flexed to keep the bunny suspended above a normal standing position. His eyes began to climb up those beautiful legs, from her large footpads to those sweet, sexy calves.

 _Only Judy could make calves attractive._

His eyes continued to rise, soaking in her muscular thighs that were straining against the tight elastic of her strange, definitely-not-standard-issue uniform. He sensed himself approaching the event horizon, and forcefully attempted to turn his head before he got too carried away. Unfortunately, as he lifted his head up to await eye contact when she turned around, he saw _it._ That wonderful, irresistible, life-giving line. That supple curve where the force of gravity was conquered by the large muscles that made up Judy's shapely rear end. Nick's eyelids shot up as far as his cranium would allow. His tongue lolled out the side of his mouth. His keen eyes focused in and the edges of his vision started to blur a little. He could only think one thing.

 _Want._

He took in the faint edge of Judy's panties that a mammal with lesser eyes wouldn't even be able to discern, only because of how wondrously tiny they were. Then his eyes shifted further up to her fluffy cottontail. The small part of him that was still functioning normally remarked that he was lucky that he wasn't close enough to grab it. Just as was going to continue his trip up Judy's backside, she turned to face him with surprising speed.

"What're you looking at, Nick?"

"Oh… ha ha… n-nothing, Fluffbutt. Come on, the Mammaltrix isn't gonna watch itself." Judy noticed his hand had shot to the back of his neck, one of his few tells that only really manifested itself when he was more embarrassed than nervous. She decided to drop it for now.

They walked in silence back to Nick's apartment. As they mounted the steps to the front door of his building, she turned her muzzle up to face Nick. For the third time, butterflies filled her stomach, and she considered turning her head back again, but she steeled herself, and with an added rush of adrenalin she spoke up.

"Nick you were staring at my ass in the restaurant, weren't you?"

"Yes. Well, not just your ass, but yes." Judy's jaw fell open at how unfazed he was.

"I cannot believe you! We're partners!"

"And you've got a nice ass, Bubblebutt."

"Ugh. Men!" With that she stormed off ahead of him.

"Keep walking. Just like that." His toothy grin stretched from ear to fuzzy ear. Judy's body betrayed her outward affections, however, and Nick delighted in the fact that with each riposte the intoxicating scent grew only stronger. It had gotten so strong that as he approached her before the door to his apartment he almost resumed his state from the restaurant. His vision did go a little blurry with pleasure.

"Alright, I'm sorry Carrots. Are you still okay to watch a movie?"

"Yeah," she relented. "But as payback you have to tell me what was bothering you in the restaurant. And you better not say my ASS!"

Nick's raised paw with one finger extended drooped back to his side, and he wisely closed his half-open muzzle. Instead, he unlocked the door and gestured inside. "Welcome to the Casa de Wilde."

Judy marveled as she stepped through the doorway. No matter how much she and Nick had hung out after work, or when he could sneak away from the academy, they had never gone back to his place. Now she could guess why: it looked very expensive. It was spacious and tastefully decorated in a sort of retro-modern style. Minimalist, all black leather and chrome. Nick seemed to realize and again rubbed the back of his neck.

"You can see why a life on the straight and narrow wasn't so appealing to me, eh Carrots?" He chuckled nervously. "I promise I paid off the back taxes, though. That's what I was doing when I was busy all last week."

"I believe you, Nick" Judy said with more than a little awe in her voice. Trying to regain her composure, she quipped, "I guess you had to woo vixens somehow, since looks and charm obviously wouldn't work." She smirked proudly after that one.

Nick's paw clutched his chest in distress. "You wound me, Carrots."

"Rich fox."

Nick raised his eyebrow at the new twist on their familiar game. "Poor bunny?"

"I guess so, but you aren't making any more than me now!"

"Someday I'll have you introduce you to my friend, little guy by the name of compound interest."

"Har har, Nick."

"Dumb bunny."

"Sly fox."

With that they plopped down on the couch together, Nick motioned towards the cabinet that the TV stood on. "So, what do you want to watch?"

"Nick, we need to talk about what happened in the café."

"Ah, it was nothing. I just need to veg out a bit. I'll be fine."

"Nick, if you don't tell me and convince me you're okay I'll have to report you to Internal Affairs and you'll be put on medical leave with mandatory psych evaluations."

"Throwing the book at me again, eh? Sly bunny."

"Don't try to deflect me, I want answers, Nick! I want to help you!" Nick's ears drooped as he heard her voice go shrill. He could see the pain in her eyes.

"Alright. I'm sorry, Carrots." He took a deep breath, slowly whistling it out between his sharp teeth.

"You really wanna know?" His ears splayed out on the top of his head and his tail flopped flat onto the couch. Judy nodded with the most reassuring expression she could muster after he slowly raised his head up.

"I'll tell you. I killed someone today. And I liked it. That's not who I'm supposed to be. That's not who any of us are supposed to be. If I liked killing some stupid kid caught up in a gang because of who his parents are or where he grew up, then how am I any better than some _primitive SAVAGE!"_ His body was heaving with sobs now, and tears _patted_ onto the leather of the couch. He was still facing down and muffling his whimpers when Judy scooted up to him and began to wrap her arms around him. Nick seemed to teleport to the far end of the couch when her fur touched his.

"Don't you get it, Judy? I'm no better than some savage predator. No matter how far we've come all I'm good for is tricking mammals or killing them-"

"Nick, stop this is ridiculous. You're so much more than that." She reached for him again, and he shimmied back on the couch until almost his whole torso was leaning off the edge. When his head bumped into a lamp, she finally caught him. He grimaced while she laid a paw on his chest, then, pulling him by his tie, dragged him back onto the couch. "I made the mistake of believing something like that once before, and you showed me how wrong I was. I'm not going to let you do this to yourself!"

"I didn't know what I was back then! I couldn't think straight, I was just acting on instinct. If you or one of the other officers had snuck up on me I probably would have killed you too!" The tears were flowing freely again, and Judy felt the building pressure against her own eyelids as she fought to keep herself under control.

"Nick I-"

"No, Carrots. You don't get it. I'm going to request a transfer to administrative duty tomorrow. I don't belong in the field." For the first time since the beginning of his diatribe, he looked up and made eye contact with her.

"Nick stop-"

"Carro-"

"NO! I said STOP! This isn't just about you, Nick. How could you just abandon me without thinking? I lost you once and I won't let that happen again."

"Judy I'm not safe to be around. I don't know what could make me like that again."

"You sure seemed in control when you winked at me." It was her turn to adopt a wry grin, tear streaks staining her cheeks.

Nick couldn't help but crack a smile at that. Or notice the faint return of the lovely aroma. "Ca-, Judy, that was different. That was a sort of primal, gut reaction."

"To what, exactly?" She managed to pull together enough dignity to huff in indignation. The sight of the disheveled bunny attempting to look haughty while fighting back both giggles and more tears brought a hint of a smirk back to Nick's muzzle.

"Well, you know I have a good sense of smell. And you were giving off a pretty _pungent_ aroma. Like now," he muttered the last part, knowing full-well that Judy would still hear it. As his left paw reached for the back of his neck, she intercepted it, and brought it back in between them.

"Well then there's no point beating around the bush anymore. Nick, I- I think I love you, and I'm not gonna let you get away just because you're damn handy to have in a fight."

Nick opened his mouth to reply but found it plugged with bunny muzzle. After a long time doing nothing more than reveling in each other's taste, Judy reached for his chest. Nick pulled back, his ears splayed.

"Judy, I'm honored that you want this, but I've got a lot on my mind right now. How about you go home now, and I'll be sure to see you tomorrow morning with coffee. Bright and early." He winked with that, and another burst of scent erupted from the bunny.

"Deal."

#

 **Author's note: Hey guys. So this chapter is a bit of a slow burn. I found the emotional stuff a lot harder to write than anything else so far (not that I've really written that much). I really wanted to convey him as shell-shocked at having taken a life, but not drag it out for way too long just to make everyone feel bad about how bad Nick and Judy feel. The section of Nick looking at Judy's** _ ***ahem***_ **posterior, on the other hand, was a blast to write.**

 **P.S. I bought some Hemingway books over the weekend and I think the influence is already pretty clear. Tell me what you think of the shorter sentences and more unmarked dialogue.**


	3. Caught

Zootopia stirred as harsh sunlight began to cut through the morning haze. The _clacking_ of claws on a hardwood floor was accompanied by a dull _thud._

"FUCK!"

Nick stumbled away from his kitchen counter, no longer groggy. He rubbed his left flank with a paw and gingerly navigated around the corner, eyeing it suspiciously. This time he made the trip successfully.

 _Not like I haven't hit it twice before. Why am I awake at this God-forsaken hour again?_

 _Isn't it obvious? For the bunny! Judy!_

With that, he reached the coffee maker and filled up his trusty thermos. He hummed happily, surprising considering the time and his most recent run-in with _that fucking counter corner_ , and his tail swished amiably behind him.

'I'm gonna pick up my bun-bun,' he sang aloud.

 _What the fuck was that?_

 _I dunno._

 _Jesus Christ I must have it bad._

He had reached the door by then, taking one last glance at his clock. _6:25_. He shuddered. Nick completed his familiar pocket pat-down, confirming that he had everything he needed, and, with a sigh and a gulp of coffee, opened his front door.

By the time Nick had opened his car's door, the thermos was only half full. He slipped into the car, a modest sedan in that bland goldish color that just screamed "three years old and affordable." He enjoyed his creature comforts, but he had learned that ostentatious displays of wealth were best left to pimps and Walrus St. bankers. He connected his phone to the bluetooth console, a luxury he allowed himself at the time of purchase, and booted up his podcast app.

 _Gotta look mature today._

 _6:36_

Nick rolled into the Snarlbucks parking lot, hopped out of the car, and made his way inside. The line was blessedly short, and he eagerly ordered her carrot latte and his double-chocolate mocha, plus a couple blueberry muffins for good measure.

 _Her sweet tooth is rubbing off on me._

He paid the exorbitant price and padded over to wait for the drinks, already munching on one muffin with his phone in the other paw. He couldn't help but quickly scroll by any news story about the warehouse, but one tangentially related one caught his eye.

" _Police Brutality Strikes Again_

 _Surprise, surprise, first fox cop is a killer. One dead and many injured in most recent police shoot out…"_

Nick scoffed and shook his head, muttering, "Like you have all answers. You weren't there."

"Excuse me?" Nick looked first up, then around, then down, and saw an old ewe looking up at him. "Are you that young fox they keep talking about on the news?"

 _Oh boy, here we go…_

Nick nodded, and, almost imperceptibly, gulped.

"I just wanted to say that I think you did a very good job. My husband was a police officer back when they thought all prey were unfit to be on the force. I know it must be hard enough for you without going through the media cycle, so keep your chin up. You boys in blue have to set an example for the rest of us."

 _Well, that went much better than expected._

"I- I don't know what to say… thank you ma'am!" He gave her his best smile, remembering not to show his teeth just in case.

"Nick! Tall carrot latte and grande choco mocha!" called out the comically large bison barista.

"Well, um, that's my cue. Thank you for the kind words, I really mean it!"

"You have a nice day, sonny!"

 _6:53_

Nick pulled up in front of Judy's apartment a few minutes early. He thought back to the old ewe's words and smiled again. He tapped the horn lightly a few times, and leaned back, pressing against the seat in a full-body stretch, his arms straining as straight as possible, wrists curling, legs fully extended while carefully avoiding the pedals. His maw parted in a gaping yawn, lips curling up, exposing the rows of pointed teeth and long tongue no longer trapped between them. His jaws clicked back together, his crinkled eyes opening just in time to see Judy exit her apartment building. He watched lazily as she hopped over the railing instead of taking the stairs, and cheerfully skipped up to the car. He leaned forwards to crank his seat back into a sitting position as she yanked open the passenger door.

"Morning, partner!" Judy said brightly.

"Carrots, it is far too early for someone to be so happy," Nick sighed, rubbing the bridge of his snout. "Here." She grabbed the proffered coffee, and took a hearty gulp.

"Thank you, Nick!" She leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek.

 _Oh, so that's how she wants to play this._

Nick looked over and gave her a sly grin. Judy's heart was making a concerted effort to crack open her ribcage and fly out of her chest. She tried to calmly brush her ears behind her head and noticed that her paw was shaking.

 _I_ _ **really**_ _hope that went over right._

 _He does seem to be in a much better mood today._

 _Oh God I hope I didn't blow it._

Judy got her answer when Nick leaned over and smooched her right on her rapidly twitching nose. The twitching first sped up, then seemed to reach integer overflow and still.

' _I didn't blow it!'_ Judy beamed.

"Carrots, if you don't calm down over there you're gonna have to drive," Nick grimaced. Judy saw that his eyes were watering and he was nearly panting.

"Oh, uh, sorry." She gave him her best smile again, and Nick turned to her and winked with a wide grin across his muzzle.

"Believe me, there's nothing I'd love more than to keep smelling this, but I'd like to make it to work alive."

"Right." Judy proceeded to look out the window and try to think about dying babies.

 _And babies don't wear clothes. And I'd like Nick to not be wearing clothes. And-_

"You're not doing a great job, Fluff." Nick's eyes were locked on the road, and it seemed to be an exhaustive effort for him to talk. His paws gripped the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles turned white beneath his fur. When they came to a red light he lurched forwards and savagely bit the top of the wheel.

 _So that's where those marks on the top of the steering wheel come from. His big. Sharp. FANGS._

"CARROTS! I'm dying here!"

"Oh my goodness I'm so sorry! Do you want me to take over?"

"No, we're almost there. I'll make it." He tried to give her a smirk, but immediately went back to gritting his teeth.

"You know, it's kind of hot that I have this effect on you."

"Oh God, I've created a feedback loop." Nick drooped down in his seat for effect.

Judy began to sniff the air. Her nose wasn't anywhere near as good as Nick's, but even she couldn't miss the smell that was clearly filling the car.

"Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick," she crooned. "You're smelling up the car too, ya know?"

"I wondered how long it'd take you to notice, Bun-bun." Judy was half-way through taking a deep breath while leaning in towards Nick when he finished his sentence. Her head immediately snapped up, while her eyes bored into Nick's head. Sensing the silence, Nick refused to turn his eyes away from the road and avoided Judy's gaze.

"Did you just call me 'Bun-bun'?"

"No, I uh… he he… well, you see-"

"OMG Nick that is sooooo CUTE! You already have new lovey-dovey nicknames for me!"

Nick's ears splayed then rolled back along his head as something between a sigh and a growl escaped his muzzle. "Ugh, what have I done? What did I do to deserve this!?" he called up to the ceiling. In response, Judy leaned over and took another whiff of his scent.

"You don't even need that Fox Musk cologne anymore," she giggled. Nick didn't reply, but she could see his chest puff out a little more with pride.

 _He's really filled out since the academy._

 _His shirt sleeves look really tight._

 _And his shoulders-_

"Alright, Carrots, we're here!"

"Why're you so excited about that?" she asked, as they both unclipped their seatbelts.

"Because now I get to do this!" He pounced across the cabin of his sedan, pinning her against the passenger door. Her eyes went wide with surprise, and just a little bit of fear, but her scent was overwhelmingly one of pleasure. Nick leaned down, dragging his muzzle along her neck, taking in all her smells. He felt a shiver run through her as his coarser fur met her soft pelt. He nuzzled along her cheek as he came back up, both sharing in the ecstasy of the intimate moment. He turned his head, still rubbing along hers, and nipped at her left ear, dragging his sharp teeth along the smooth suede of her inner ear and the soft velvet of the outside.

Judy moaned, her paws scrambling along his neck, eventually dragging him down by the ears until his muzzle was level with hers.

"You're mine now, Fox!" She pulled him into a passionate kiss. One paw dug through the fur on his nape, down under his collar, and caressed his back. Another snaked across his chest, through the gap between two of the buttons in his shirt, and massaged his chest. She relished the alien feeling of his fur, much longer and thicker than that of a bunny, yet still soft. Underneath it she felt the taut muscles that were the domain of the predator species. Prey could be fit, one look at Bogo would dispel any notion otherwise, but it did not come naturally. Usually they looked like the many pudgy citizens seen on the streets, or thin like herself. Predators alone were all muscle by nature, whether wiry like Nick or massive like Gazelle's tiger dancers. And she loved every inch of him.

One of his paws stroked her long ears, a similar feeling of wonder overcoming him at how anything could be so soft. No vixen could come close to the smoothness he was now feeling, or the wondrous collision of oil and water when his fur met hers. His other paw reached down to feel her tail.

 _Oh my God. And I thought her ears were soft._

He resisted the urge to squeeze her tail with all his might, and settled for gently stroking it. The smooth tickling sensation as his paw pads glided over the long, soft hairs sent a tingle down his spine. He decided someone must have invented the word 'floofy' after stroking a bunny's tail.

After a long while they broke apart. Nick shifted back into his seat, a goofy smile on his muzzle. Judy stared back at him dreamily. "I've wanted to do that for so long," he breathed after a short pause. She was about to respond in kind when she caught sight of the clock on the car's dashboard.

"OhmygodNickit's7:56!"

"Shit! Let's go, Fluff."

They both hopped out of the car and sped towards the precinct building from the officer's lot. Nick frantically straightened his tie as he ran, while Judy worked on smoothing out her uniform. They stopped outside the door, gave each other a brief once over, shrugged in resignation, and headed inside.

 _7:58_

Benjamin Clawhauser was sitting at his desk, trying to look busy with paperwork as he browsed the web on his phone. He looked up at the sound of the employee parking lot door opening.

 _Hopps and Wilde. I wonder if it finally happened._

Clawhauser put down his phone as he focused on what was often the most interesting part of his day: gathering new data for the Wildehopps betting pool. He personally calculated odds for them, updating them weekly with new information. Obviously, he had to abstain from betting himself, but he took a measly 10% as the house. His plans to remodel his apartment were coming along nicely. As per usual, he put all his skills as a professional gossip into action as he surveyed the pair, looking for signs of a change in their relationship.

 _They do look like a wreck. Up late having some fun?_

As the two sped by him he waved a friendly hello. Judy responded with a brief "Good morning!" Nick gave a two-fingered salute and a nod, "Benji."

 _Everything seems normal._

 _Maybe_ _ **too**_ _normal._

 _I'll stay on high alert today_.

Just as Clawhauser was about to look back to his phone, and Nick and Judy began to turn into the hallway towards the Organized Crime briefing room, Nick gave Judy a playful slap on the ass. Rather than raising hell, Judy just looked up and gave him a knowing look, before stroking his tail in return.

Clawhauser had to double up his paws over his mouth to keep the squeal contained within his large body.

#

"Nick, what if someone saw that?"

"You sure didn't seem to mind. Besides, the only person in the lobby was Clawhauser, and his head's always buried in his phone."

"If you say so, but from now on, no shenanigans while we're on the job!"

"Alright, Fluff."

 _7:59:43_

Silas Young drummed his fingers on the podium in the briefing room, which he had moved off to the far corner from the door to allow him room to pace in front of his men. He looked at his watch again, opened his mouth to comment on the lateness of the new pair of officers, and was cut off by the door bursting open.

"I see you two like to be very precise about arriving at 8," he said. His tone was stern, but the upward tilt on the edges of his mouth and the glint in his eye belied that he held no ill-will towards the promising recruits.

 _Hell, I could use a new pair of detectives. Might have to have a word with Bogo after this case._

Judy jumped up and clamped Nick's muzzle shut. "What I'm sure Nick was going to say is that we'll be here earlier tomorrow." She released her grip and dropped back down to the floor. Nick gave her a playful scowl as they both got into the familiarly over-sized seats.

' _Well they certainly seem comfortable together. Maybe more so than before,'_ Silas thought. ' _Maybe they finally figured it out.'_

"That is an excellent idea, Officers." Silas did his best to remain officious, but he could feel his muzzle undermining him as a smile escaped across it. "Nonetheless, assignments today are simple. Al, Allen, you two will be following up with your contacts to try and figure out the size and scope of the Neys' operation at the docks and if it has spread elsewhere. Maggie, you'll be continuing with your previous case. John, Jennie, you as well."

The detectives got up roughly in unison, and a gentle rustling commenced as holsters, jackets, and hats were put on.

' _I still can't wrap my head around the way they dress. Why would anyone_ _ **want**_ _to look like that?'_ Nick thought. He was dressed in one of his many Pawaiian shirts, this one a pinkish, salmon color with yellow leaves, and a plain pair of khakis. Next to him, Judy was wearing _deliciously_ tight jeans and a plaid shirt. Neither of them carried a weapon, although both had their badges in their pockets.

"Admiring our look, boss?" Al, the large boar, asked as he finished tugging on his suit coat. Nick realized he had been staring. "I can recommend you a real good taylor on Fern St., get you a friends and family discount. You'll have to bring me, though. Otherwise Vincent will never believe I have friends who dress so poorly." He chuckled.

"I can clean up preeeetty well all by myself, thank you very much," Nick replied in a huff.

"Awright, boss. Keep telling yourself that." With another laugh, Al and his partner, Allen, made for the door.

"Nick, I think you just got schooled," Judy not-whispered to her partner. Nick's scowl and splayed ears were met by laughter from the other mammals in the room.

"See, they'll fit in just fine," laughed Maggie. "And don't worry about Al. He's just grumpy ever since he realized he became an old fart."

"Hey! I resemble that statement," he replied, cracking a grin. The detectives continued laughing as they filed out of the room.

"Alright, now that that's out of the way, we come to you two," intoned Silas, for the third time today attempting to maintain a straight face. "You will be attempting to use your own contacts to follow up on this case. Nick, I understand you had some dealings with Zootopia's underworld?"

"That's all behind me now, Silas." Nick seemed to have regained his cool, as evidenced by the casual smirk once again on his muzzle.

"Let's hope not too far. Rustle a few trees, see what falls down. We want to know who the middle man who's bringing these weapons into Zootopia is. The more you can find out about this whole operation, the better. You'll want to pick up an unmarked car from the lot, and you'll probably want to grab some weapons that you can carry discretely."

"I'm not sure where we could hide one, Silas. It's not like we're wearing suits," Judy answered.

"Nonsense, you just have to be creative. Even with such a tight shirt, you should be able to tuck one on the small of your back next to your tail, Judy. Nick, you definitely have room to do the same." Silas noticed the blush appearing in Judy's ears when he mentioned her shirt, the way her eyes darted towards Nick, then shot back towards him.

 _I'm beginning to think that they did, in fact, figure it out. Must've been last night, since she had time to dress just for him. They do look rough around the edges today._

"I knew that," Nick said, apparently still pouting a little.

"Good, then you can help make sure Judy is properly concealing her weapon. You'll have to do a _thorough_ examination." Silas gave Nick a little wink. To Silas's surprise, Nick returned it immediately, giving his own knowing look.

 _So they definitely figured it out. And he's even smarter than he looks. I'm liking them more and more by the second._

"Well, that'll be all. Run along now." He noticed the confused look on Judy's face, having caught that something had passed between him and Nick, but not quite sure what.

 _She's bright too, just needs some more experience. And she's already proved herself a damned fine detective. I definitely need to have a word with Adrian once this is over._

#

Nick's eyes went wide as he walked into the ZPD armory. He felt like a kit in a candy shop. Every wall was lined with weapons of every shape and size: pistols, rifles, submachine guns, batons, tasers, tranq pistols and rifles, and even a rack of assorted knives. His eyes climbed the long barrels hungrily, darting from one to the next, more excited with each discovery. The scent of metal, lubricant, and the faint smell of burnt gunpowder filled his eager nostrils. Racks in the middle formed aisles like a supermarket, containing many more guns and the ZPD's riot gear. His eyes zeroed-in on a far rack that contained high-power rifles fitted with telescopic sights.

 _Walfur 2000, M14, Roarington 700…_

 _What's that dripping noise? Do they have a leak in here?_

 _Maybe there's some cool ammo dispenser that drops out single rounds over the-_

He was interrupted by something jumping onto his chest and hanging off his collar. Judy's face and paw, still snapping, suddenly took up his whole field of view.

"NICK!"

"Huh? Oh, sorry, Carrots. I got a little distracted."

"I could tell. Since when are you so into guns?"

"I'd actually never shot one before the academy, but it was love at first sight. Didn't I tell you I set records for marksmammalship when I was there? Even 'ol Ursula couldn't out-shoot me."

"Wow, Nick. I didn't know my fox was such a good shot," she said, leaning forwards and wrapping her arms around his neck. Nick brought his paws up, cupping her rear _totally just to keep her from falling._ He quickly gave up and caressed her. His hot breath across her nape sent a shiver through her. He began walking.

"What're you doin'?" she asked, still nuzzling into his neck fur.

"Bein' the only productive one in the room," Nick replied, grabbing a small pistol and tucking it into her waistband by her tail. "There's hardly any room left in here," he grunted with the effort.

"You know you love me," she said, nestling further into his neck fur.

"Do I know that? Yes, yes I do," he responded, giving her tail a stroke before returning his paw to squeeze her rear again.

"Speaking of guns on waists," she said, leaning back to face him, arms still around his neck. "What was that between you and Silas a moment ago?"

"He knows about us."

Again his ability to deliver such important statements so flippantly amazed her.

 _I guess that's why he was so good at hustling people._

"What? How? How do you know?"

"I'm not sure how he knows, but, I mean, he is a detective. One so good they made him an inspector in charge of Organized Crime in the city's top precinct. As to how I know, you noticed how he said 'thorough', right? He winked to me when he said it. I know how to read people, but that was like a picture book."

"Ugh. Well let's just hope he keeps it private."

"What, are you embarrassed of me?" he mocked, an overacted expression of shock on his face.

"I'm not you big baby, I just want to wait a little before the whole force knows we're an item. It's still not exactly normal, especially pred/prey."

"Yeah, yeah I know. We can cross that bridge when we come to it. I don't think Silas is the type to spill others' secrets." He leaned forwards, indicating for her to get off. As he stood back up, he grabbed a pistol for himself off the rack, slipping it into his own waistband. "Whelp, we're about done here, maybe grab a few magazines then fill out the log."

#

As Nick and Judy made their way back through the one of the main office spaces from the armory, they noticed a lot of hurried glances at them, and hushed up snickering and giggling. Judy's apprehensive gaze met only turned down eyes or hastily swiveled chairs, however. Nick's slightly more agitated eyes did catch two officers before they could tactfully look away. They sheepishly grinned and gave him a thumbs up.

 _Delgato and Fangmeyer of all people. What's going on?_

 _What if_ _ **they**_ _know?_

 _That's crazy. How could they?_

 _What else would make them act like that?_

Nick growled a little at that last thought, causing Judy to look up at him while all other eyes quickly turned away. He and Judy made it to the end of the hallway, and he quickly pulled her around the corner. He turned her to face him, gestured with his paw cupped around his ear, then pointed towards the hallway. She nodded in understanding. They both crept up to the edge of the hallway, ears turned towards the corridor, straining to pick up any conversations being struck up in their absence.

"Did you see those two, they're so cute together."

"Don't say that around Hopps, she'll kill you."

"I just don't get why they couldn't have fucked last week. I coulda used that cash."

"You don't know the half of it, Snarlov. You get a partial win. I put everything on two weeks from now."

"When's Clawhauser gonna pay out anyways?"

Upon hearing the chubby cheetah's name, Nick and Judy pulled back from the corner and looked at each other. They nodded once, fire and brimstone in their eyes, then strode off angrily to the reception desk.

#

Clawhauser was scribbling furiously on some piece of paper hidden behind the lip of his desk, occasionally tapping something out on a calculator. He looked up, saw the approaching, angry mammals, and did his best to hide what he was working on.

"Niiiiick. Juuuuuudy. My two favorite cops. What can I do ya for?" His voice was clearly nervous, and sweat was already dripping down his brow onto his massive cheeks.

Judy hopped onto his desk in one smooth motion, landing leaned on one hip, arms crossed, foot tapping. A large frown, rarely seen on the cheery bunny, occupied her muzzle. Nick stayed in front of the counter, arms similarly crossed, and a similarly murderous look on his visage.

"Well, _Officer Clawhauser_ , my partner and I were just wondering why our colleagues know that Nick and I are now dating." Her foot began tapping.

"Ha ha, whaaat? That's crazy, I had no-"

"And why they were _betting_ on when that would happen." Her frown grew deeper, and Clawhauser wished he could just suck his head into his body like a turtle. The tapping of her foot was speeding up.

"I had no ide-"

"And why they said _you_ were behind all this." Judy finished with a loud _thump_ on the desktop, causing Clawhauser to wince and shrink away from her.

"Listen, I… he hughh… well-"

"Oh, wouldja look at this." She picked up the sheet Clawhauser had been writing on. "Looks like a ledger." She scanned the page, saw the list of payouts, and let out a low whistle.

"That much, huh Carrots? Well, why don't you give us that, Benji, and we won't beat you senseless then turn you in to Bogo?" Nick gave his best "I'm being reasonable" shrug. Bad cop was working well, but a little bit of good cop never hurt.

"Guys, I can't do that. It's stealing from all the other guys, not to mention they'll kill me." The poor cheetah looked utterly hopeless.

"Clawhauser. The cash. _Now._ " Judy extended a hand expectantly. He reluctantly bent over, pulling a key from his belt to unlock a drawer under the desktop. Opening it, he withdrew two large wads of cash, rubber banded together tightly. Judy grabbed them, hopped down next to Nick, and walked off. Nick gave Clawhauser another two-fingered salute, failing to contain a smirk made of pure schadenfreude at the cheetah's ghostly expression. "It's called a hustle, sweetheart," he called out before pivoting and following Judy out.

#

 **Author's note: I'd love to know what y'all think of this chapter. It's definitely dialogue/fluff heavy, but it was unavoidable with what I've planned of the story so far, and how I rearranged things a bit to write the first two. Next chapter will be mostly about the investigation, I promise. Maybe just a bit of fallout from their learning about the betting.**

 **Also, I'm not into songfic (and I have no fucking clue how to do it well), but I listened to** _ **I'm a Believer**_ **by Smashmouth while editing, and I do think it's kind of a good parallel for Nick, at least how I see him.**

 **P.S. I really need to learn how to use the word 'and' less.**


	4. Diving in Head First

Nick and Judy sat in the unmarked car, a sleek black Purcedes. Nick had insisted on a car that fit the bill of someone who wanted to buy expensive, illicit weapons. Judy had insisted on driving, which Nick wholeheartedly agreed with, although he was feeling much more in control of his reactions to her scent than he had that morning. He looked over to Judy.

"So, how much exactly did we get from Clawhauser?"

"I didn't count it all out, but it's somewhere in the range of $4200."

"Damn. Well you can't say our coworkers don't care."

"Oh yes, I'm so glad our coworkers were willing to bet thousands of dollars on whether or not we would hook up, and when."

' _My snark is really rubbing off on her,'_ he thought.

 _Heh. Rubbing off. On her. Heh heh._

"At least they had confidence in my wooing abilities," he smirked.

"Excuse me? _I_ kissed _you_ first!" she shot back.

"Yeah, but you never would have if it weren't for my incredible good looks and foxy charm. And, you wouldn't have admitted it so readily if it weren't for my telling you I could tell you were aroused." He leaned back with a renewed smirk of assured victory.

"Sly fox," she muttered.

"Dumb bunny." The coup-de-grâce.

"Ugh. Sometimes I don't know why I put up with you." Nick thanked God that they had just pulled to a stop at a red light.

"Because I can do this," he said. Leaning over, he grabbed her right ear between his teeth. Gently tugging it as he slid his teeth along its soft length, he feathered his long, rough tongue across the edge of her ear. Judy let out a gasp, sinking into her seat and filling the car with her sweet scent. Nick caught the end of her ear on his front teeth, pulled it taut, then let it pop out of his mouth after another gentle lick, causing Judy to suppress a moan. He inhaled deeply, settling back into his seat. As the light turned green, Judy jammed her foot on the accelerator, pressing Nick back into his seat. Much to her frustration, he seemed unfazed.

"You are the absolute worst!" she pouted.

"You know you love me," he replied, lazily.

"I'll let your nose answer that one today, Slick." He rolled his eyes, taking an exaggerated, deep breath. To Judy's delight, his muzzle filled with a mixture of pleasure and immediate regret as his eyes glazed over a little.

"So what's the plan for finding the weapons dealer?" she asked once Nick looked like he had recovered from both his scent overload and his ensuing frustration with getting bested by Judy.

"Well, I just _mayyy_ know a few guys. Only one of them's big time enough to pull something like this off. I guess we'll just have to drop by and see what we can get out of him."

"And if that doesn't work?"

"Well, then we're pretty much fucked."

"So what should I do?"

"Just follow my lead, Fluff, unlike with Mr. Big."

"I'll remind you that that worked out about as well as it possibly could have."

"Sly bunny."

"Dumb fox." Judy grinned more than she thought she ought to have.

#

The Purcedes rolled to a smooth stop on Vernon Street. The neighborhood Nick and Judy found themselves definitely wasn't one of Zootopia's best, but it wasn't a particularly bad part of town either. The street looked tired, like the last wave of gentrification had missed it.

Worn brick buildings populated both sides of the road, which, while still smooth, had that faded color of decades old asphalt. There were hardly any cars or mammals on the street, a norm for these post-industrial areas. Nick had spent much of his time in places like this as he worked odd jobs and made deals in Zootopia's underworld, but Judy was clearly uneasy and more than a little surprised at the contrast to the vibrant streets she was more familiar with. Even the sketchy neighborhoods and ghettos they patrolled were busier than this.

Nick had relented to attempting an undercover operation with neither oversight nor permission, but only after they had put in an alert that they were investigating suspicious activity and wanted backup on patrol in the area. He and Judy clambered out of the large vehicle and stood before an old auto body shop.

"Looks like a bit of a dump. You sure he's here?" Judy asked, a skeptical slant to her eyebrows.

"It's the perfect front: not too flashy, and good cover for any loud noises if he needs to make modifications or test something."

"I guess so," she relented.

They approached the door, Nick mouthing a familiar 'follow my lead.' Judy rolled her eyes and fell in a pace behind him. Nick rapped on the door, then opened it slowly, sticking his muzzle into the dark interior. "Anybody home?"

"Shops closed buddy," came a gruff voice from somewhere within.

"Well then you shoulda locked the door, silly. Besides, I'm not here for a fender bender. I'm looking for something with a little more _oomph_ , if you catch my drift..."

"I don't know what you're talkin' about, buddy. Now beat it before we have trouble."

"I don't think Big Pete would appreciate you talking like that to one of your best customers, Lenard." There was a sudden yelp, then the lights flicked on and a rather sheepish looking wolf stumbled into the now brightly lit room. There were some faded, bland paintings on the walls, a large counter that presumably would be staffed, and an open door into a rear room which the wolf had presumably come from.

"Sorry, Mr. Wilde. I, uh, didn't recognize ya there." Lenard, his jet black fur poofing out of a mechanic's jumpsuit, stood with his tail nearly between his legs, staring at the floor. Judy followed Nick, who was practically strutting like a peacock, wide-eyed at the reaction from the wolf. She was going to have to ask Nick about that best customer line.

"Don't worry about it, Lenny. Now where's Petey?" Nick gave the wolf an easy, half-lidded smirk. Despite only coming up to the other mammal's chest, it still seemed like Nick was looking down on him.

"He's in his office, I'll see if he can see you-"

"I'm sure he can make time for an old friend." Nick's calm tone smoothly ran over the wolf's, like magma flowing inexorably over a meadow. Judy was getting more confused by the second. She had never seen Nick like this, and he had never let on that he was involved with anything this serious in his past.

Lenny just nodded and gulped. He turned around and headed for the back door. His tail had drooped as far as it could without dragging on the floor. Nick followed, still a calm swagger in his step, his tail lazily swishing back and forth. Judy watched for a moment, then shook her head and jogged after him.

 _This is just too weird. Nick seems like some sort of Mafia don. Either there's a lot to his past that he's not telling me, or this is the craziest hustle he's ever pulled._

 _And why is that wolf so_ _ **scared**_ _of him?_

They reached the end of the hallway, Judy taking note of several closed doors on their left along the corridor. Lenny carefully knocked on the heavy door set in the middle of the back wall, and was met by a sullen "What?"

"Boss, it's Lenny. Nick… uh… Nick Wilde," he winced as he said Nick's full name, "is here to see you." Judy began to wonder why he seemed so uncomfortable when she got her answer.

"Well that two-timing motherfucker has some nerve coming back here."

"Come on, Petey. We go way back. You can trust me." Nick's tone was much more conciliatory than before, though he still looked just as confident.

"What do you want, Fox?" the voice on the other side of the door spat.

"Hey now, I like to think I'm a little more than just 'Fox', after all we've been through. Maybe 'fantastic and annoyingly handsome fox' or 'smug cunt'." The second elicited a short chuckle from through the door. "Anyways, I'm lookin' to find out how those sonsabitches at that warehouse got their paws on armored piercing rifles. Got any ideas, Innocent Local Businessmammal?"

"Lenny, let 'em in."

#

Judy and Nick were both sitting in comfortable, upholstered armchairs. For once, the chairs were properly sized for them, a consideration that Big Pete had thought was wise to make all possible clients comfortable. Chairs of various sizes lined the wall opposite his desk in the large office.

"So, who's the rabbit?" asked the massive pig sitting across from them.

"Just a business associate," Nick replied lazily.

' _That's strange,'_ Judy thought, but she merely nodded.

"She sorta keeps the books for me, handles stuff, you know how it is," Nick continued.

"Yeah, that kinda thing's helpful. But you gotta be sure they're trustworthy." The pig's calm expression turned into a glare directed at Nick.

"Look, Petey. I'm not asking you to forgive me for what happened, or to trust me to broker another deal for you. I'm just asking for a little bit of information, then I'll be out of your fur."

"Pigs don't have fur."

"Can you trust me enough to believe that it's a common expression."

"I'm not a moron, Wilde."

"Then don't act like one." On the other side of the desk, Pete tensed, his fat cheeks jiggling a little as muscles clenched underneath them. Nick remained impassive, beginning to examine his claws, extending them fully and letting them catch the light from the window. Judy saw Pete lean back and uncoil, perhaps even a flash of worry going across his face.

 _Is_ _ **he**_ _scared of Nick too? What's going on here._

 _I think this is what they call a red flag._

 _Shut up._

"So, where are the Ney's getting armor piercing rifles, Pete?" Nick asked. Judy realized she had been zoning out for a while now. Nick's voice was losing the even cool from before, and his ears were no longer in their standard slightly tilted back, slightly splayed out position.

"Who said anything about the Ney's? I ain't tellin' you shit."

"Come on Pete, don't make this harder than it needs to be." Nick was almost growling now. Pete had steeled himself and was glaring levelly back at him.

"If you don't tell us now, we'll come back with a warrant, sir," Judy added coolly.

"What was that?" Pete said quietly, turning his gaze first to Judy, then back to Nick. "You a fuckin' _cop_ now, Wilde?"

"Ohhh shit, did I mess up, Nick?"

"Yeah, Carrots. Big time."

Judy was quick to react, but she was still stunned as the russet flash streaked past her. She hopped onto the desk to see Nick's muzzle clamped around Pete's enormous wrist, blood spurting out from under his lips. A large pistol clattered to the ground as the now-standing pig cried out.

"Agghh. You litt-" He was cut off by Nick's body slamming into his face after scampering up his arm. The pig careened over backwards as Nick jumped off of him. The impact of his large body shook the floor, and the desk Judy and Nick were now both standing on. Pete looked like he was out cold. A scuffle could be heard in the hallway as doors slammed open and footpads slapped on the linoleum floor.

"You hear that?"

"What the hell's going on?"

"Benny, Frank, check on the boss. I'll watch the front door."

The door burst open, revealing two new wolves who looked decidedly less submissive than Lenny. They snarled, eyeing first Judy, then alighting on Nick. Blood dripped from his muzzle and coated his bared teeth. His pupils were slits, ears erect in an aggressive posture, and a low growl emanated from his throat. He went to grab his pistol.

"No, Nick. We want them for questioning. You go right, I go left." Nick nodded. The wolves charged.

Judy jumped off the desk and sprinted towards her mark, feigning an attempt to run under his legs and out the room. He began to slow and bend down to grab her. Just as she arrived directly under him, his head bent down and paws reaching towards her, she jumped straight up, delivering an uppercut to his jaw. She was careful to hit the bone with the heel of her palm, remembering that without boxing gloves on punching a mammal this size was liable to shatter her fist. The wolf's head snapped up and he stumbled back a few paces. Judy landed gently then jumped up again, this time smacking the wolf with a roundhouse kick to the muzzle. He stumbled back further, and Judy was preparing to deliver her final blow when she was distracted by frantic yelping and whimpering across the room.

#

As Judy headed for her wolf, Nick turned to face his. Leaping from the desk, he landed on all fours and shot across the room to his target. Many mammals were ashamed of moving on all fours, considering it barbaric and primitive. They strived to differentiate themselves from their pasts and their base instincts. Nick had learned early on that he would, and should, take any advantage he could get. His lips curled up into a grim smile, exposing his rear teeth. His pupils narrowed and his breath quickened. There was something satisfying about running on all fours that he didn't know how to explain.

Nick's shoulder connected with the instep of the wolf's left knee with a satisfying _crunch_ , rolling away before the larger mammal's head had even fully turned to face him. The wolf toppled with a cry of pain, and Nick leapt back towards him. Landing on the facedown wolf's back, Nick grabbed the wolf's right arm, twisting it back in an arm-bar, grinning with frenzied bloodlust. The wolf attempted to turn around and bite the fox on his back. Nick responded by slamming the wolf's head back into the ground with a foot on his neck, and braced his other leg against the wolf's bicep. Pulling on the wolf's arm with a furious growl, he _snapped_ it over his knee at the elbow.

A shriek burst forth from the wolf's muzzle as his body writhed in pain. Nick jumped off his back, watching as the wolf flipped over and attempted to crawl away. Nick hissed at him and the wolf's eyes went wide. He redoubled his efforts, whining and whimpering at the fox's slow advance.

"Nick, stop!"

Nick's head whirled toward Judy. His ears relaxed a little and his eyes softened. Just as soon they switched back into alert.

"Judy, behind you!"

Before she even fully processed the words, her training kicked in and she was off, diving forwards and rolling as she hit the ground. Her wolf hit the ground hard, his leap having missed his target, in the space she had occupied a moment before. She came up from the roll and pivoted to face the wolf while Nick sprinted across the room. She leapt forwards, her fist connecting with the wolf's nose. She looked down just in time to see Nick's jaws close around the wolf's neck.

 _Oh my God. He's going to kill him with his bare paws. Well, teeth._

 _I need to stop him._

Nick and the wolf crashed into the floor, Nick still locked around the wolf's neck. The wolf made weak attempts to pry Nick off of him, thoroughly dazed from the repeated blows to the head. Unable to pick the wolf up by the neck and shake it, as canids typically hunted, he settled on attempting to gnaw through its sinew and muscle until the body connected to it stopped struggling.

Judy jumped onto Nick's back and latched on, arms wrapped around his neck and legs his torso. She yelled into his ears, "Nick, you have to stop! _YOU'RE GOING TO KILL HIM!"_

Reluctantly, Nick's jaws loosened, slipping off of the wolf's neck. His ears splayed wide, shoulders slumping, and he looked back at Judy. His pupils were wide and a pained frown filled his face.

"I told you, Carrots. I'm dangerous. This was a bad idea."

Judy hopped off his back and it felt like her stomach continued through the floor without her.

"Nick, we can talk later. Call for backup now."

She drew her pistol and backed towards a corner of the room with Nick, keeping it ready if any of the three mammals on the floor made any sudden moves. Pete still seemed to be out cold, Nick's wolf was whimpering in the far corner from them, and hers was clutching at his neck, attempting to staunch the blood flow. Nick put his phone back in his pocket.

"Fangmeyer and McRoary will be here in two. More're on the way. What now?"

Nick's eyes had taken on a thousand-yard stare. He idly drew his pistol, thumbed the safety, and held in before him pointed at the floor. ' _Right,'_ Judy thought, and flipped off the safety on her own pistol.

"I guess we should see if we can secure these guys. Watch them and the door while I look for some rope or something."

"Uh-huh"

#

Judy was still rummaging for rope when McRoary kicked the door open. Fangmeyer ran in, pistol up and scanning. The lion followed the white wolf into the room, took a look around, and settled on Nick. The fox stared back with unfocused eyes, gun hanging limply in his arms, bloods still dripping from his muzzle and covering his shirt.

"Jesus Christ, what happened here?"

"He did," Judy responded, jerking a thumb at Nick. "I helped a little, mostly by blowing our cover."

Fangmeyer moved to cuff the whimpering wolf, who made no resistance, but whined loudly when his broken arm was grabbed.

"McRoary, we need a few ambulances here ASAP. And someone important to sort this mess out."

"Roger," the lion said, and began speaking into his radio. Judy tuned it out as she headed back over to Nick. She was starting to get very concerned about him, and that was before she thought about the dark hints to his past that she had gotten in the last hour. Behind her, Fangmeyer approached the wolf in the pool of blood and tried to bandage his neck with some gauze.

Judy reached up and grabbed Nick's paw. She began to stroke it gently while looking up at him. He slowly turned his muzzle down to face her and his eyes finally focused on her worried face. He flashed a quick smile then looked up again.

"Whelp, that was certainly something," he said after a long time.

"Nick, it's gonna be okay. We're going to get through this together."

"You still want to be together after today?" He looked back down at her.

"Of course! You're gonna have to try real hard to get rid of me, Slick." She gave him a light punch on the arm.

"Well, in that case, let me make another attempt." With a mischievous grin, Nick snaked his tongue out of his mouth and licked the blood off of his muzzle. He smacked his lips together with a satisfied sigh. Judy barely choked down the urge the vomit.

"What the fuck, Wilde?" cried McRoary.

#

 **Author's note: Well I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, even if travel and starting college got in the way of my finishing it. I pretty much had an image of Nick leaping and biting a fat pig (named Big Pete's) arm, then knocking him out, followed by Nick and Judy fighting two wolves running through my mind on repeat as I crafted the rest of the story to get them there and then out of it. Originally it was even bloodier, I think Nick was at least going to kill Pete and "his" wolf, but I thought that would just mess up the story by forcing me too far down the tangent of savage-y Nick.**

 **P.S. Ignore the fact that Nick gnawing on a wolf's neck would almost certainly rip through the wolf's jugular, which is very close to the surface on the front just like ours. Whoever came up with that exposed vital artery idea was a dumbass.**

 **P.P.S. I kept writing 'Neck' instead of 'neck' since I'm so used to capitalizing 'Nick'.**


	5. Back to Square One

**Recommended reading before starting this chapter: Carrot Pop by Weaver. It's only four panels and SFW. I can't figure out how to get around FFN's no links bullshit thought, so you're going to have to look it up yourselves.**

* * *

"Did you see what Wilde did to those guys?"

"McRoary said he licked the blood off his lips and smiled."

"That pig's been screaming bloody murder since he woke up."

"Both those wolves are like broken mammals now. One's silent and the other just whimpers."

"I heard preds can't go near them or they freak out."

"I mean it makes sense. The one nearly bled out after Wilde tried to bite his head off. And the other's a lame mess."

"How'd a _fox_ do so much damage."

"I know I don't want to go to Foxborough anytime soon."

"Maybe he's takin' after Hopps, but more violent."

"I mean, he is a _pred_."

"Fuck off, Salworth."

"Sorry, Delgato. It was just an observation."

"Wilde's one of our colleagues. He's a good mammal, and he did what he had to to protect himself and his partner."

"McRoary said he liked it."

"Stop being a dumbass, we know he was just fucking with Hopps."

"That's still fucked up though."

* * *

Nick and Judy were sitting in the back of an ambulance wearing shock blankets. They both stared forward grimly, pretending not to hear their coworkers. Nick wore a stoic grimace, counting pebbles in the asphalt to pass the time. He was doing a good job of not letting them see that they get to you, but Judy could occasionally see his ears or muzzle twitch slightly at a comment from their fellow officers. She shifted over to him and laid her head against his arm, craning her neck to look up at him.

"You do owe me for that joke, ya know," she said, a playful smile on her muzzle.

"What, is my crude predatory nature too much for your bunny sensibilities?" he asked with his practiced expression of mock indignation.

"I think that went a little beyond simply expressing your nature. But if you tell me something I want, I think I'll be able to find it in my heart to forgive you." There was a twinkle in her eyes now.

' _God, she's beautiful,'_ Nick thought.

"And what exactly would you like to know, Temptress?" He turned his head and rested it on his shoulder so that his nose was almost touching hers. Judy's eyes went a little wide at the sudden proximity and the sensation of his breath rolling across her muzzle with each easy exhale. He only smirked more at her reaction, but she quickly recomposed herself.

"I want to know about your criminal background. If I believe your story, and that's a big if, I'll make it worth your while, Foxy." She gave him her it's-called-a-hustle-sweetheart smirk.

"I want that in writing: I give you everything, and in exchange I get one night's worth of cottontail before you put me in witness protection." He maintained his casual smirk, but his eyes were absolutely devilish.

"You're just gonna have to trust me, Slick."

"While I would generally laugh at that sentence, I'll give you a chance because I _really_ want that cottontail." She responded by flopping her ears down onto his snout in a playful slap, coming just short of his eyes.

"Horny fox."

He took a deep breath and let out a pleased sigh.

"Hornier bunny."

They both giggled. Nick turned a little until their muzzles met, drawing Judy into a light kiss. They sat there contentedly for a moment until they were interrupted by a loud throat-clearing. They opened their eyes and immediately cringed and tried to shrink into nothingness. Staring down at them was the visage of a very nonplussed Chief Adrian Bogo.

"I'm glad to see you're both okay," he gritted out. "Now would you like to explain why you undertook an undercover operation without permission or any oversight, the ensuing mess you caused, or why you're kissing in the back of an ambulance. In any order you please."

Nick eagerly straightened up and waved his raised hand like a schoolkit. "Oo! Oo! Pick me! Pick me!"

"Yes, Wilde." Bogo sighed.

"Well, I can answer the last one real easy. Basically, I started noticing that whenever I'm around, Officer Hopps here smells just like the last time she was in heat." Judy's ears were completely erect and bright crimson.

"So, I told her, and then she kissed me. That was yesterday evening. So then this morning we had a wicked make-out session in the parking lot before we arrived for work." Judy's head was now buried in her hands.

"And then I guess Clawhauser saw me slap Judy's ass on the way into work, since we heard everyone talking about us hooking up on the way out. I guess we kinda just assumed it was in the open and no big deal at that point. Also, you might wanna get your nose checked, cuz even _you_ should be able to smell that she's running hot right now-" Nick caught Judy's fist without breaking eye contact with the chief.

"And besides, look how _cute_ we are together! I mean, did you see that? I just caught her punch without even having to look, and right about no-" Judy twisted and kicked her leg up at Nick's head.

' _Anything to make him stop talking,'_ she thought.

Nick deftly caught her leg in his mouth.

"Shee ut I'hh talkin' a'out?" Judy managed to turn even redder.

 _Don't moan. Don't moan. Don't moan. Don't moan. Don't moan._

After Nick let go of her she faced into the ambulance for a moment as if she could find her dignity within. Once she had composed herself she turned around and resumed a normal sitting position, deliberately leaving some space between herself and Nick.

"Is what he says true, Officer Hopps?" Bogo asked, a tired expression on his face.

Judy hesitated for a moment before answering, "Yes, sir!" She nodded for emphasis.

"There's my brave little rabbit!" Nick pulled her next to him and gave her a noogie.

"I WILL END YOU, FOX!" She jumped up, latching her paws in a vice-like grip around as much of his neck as she could grab.

"Help, police brutality!" Nick croaked.

Suddenly, they were both suspended in the air, their collars digging into their necks.

"Alright, I think that question was answered just _brilliantly._ Now, you two are going to sit down, calmly and professionally, and answer the other two. Are. We. Clear."

Nick and Judy both gulped as best they could while being held up by their shirt collars, and nodded. Bogo set them back down on the edge of the ambulance.

"I take full responsibility for our being there and everything that happened afterward, sir. I convinced Officer Wilde, who was reluctant, to undertake this undercover mission. If it weren't for him we wouldn't even have had Fangmeyer and McRoary nearby as backup. I also blew said cover while we were talking to the informant, and then reacted poorly to the ensuing threats, which is what forced Officer Wilde to take such extreme measures to ensure his and my own safety."

Judy forced herself to remain calm and stare back as Bogo gazed back at her silently for what felt like minutes. Then, like a millstone, his huge head slowly rotated until his death gaze fixed on Nick.

"Is that true, Officer Wilde?"

Nick looked as serious as Judy had ever seen him. "That is almost entirely false, Chief. It was my idea originally to talk to Big Pete to get information. I should have relayed that idea to Silas so that someone qualified to probe him could have done it, or at least we would have had some oversight, backup, and advice. Furthermore, I led Officer Hopps into the situation with almost no briefing or plan. It's my fault we weren't better prepared and thus got exposed. And it's definitely not Judy's fault what happened to those mammals inside, since I did it to them." Nick stared back defiantly when Bogo cocked an eyebrow.

"Well, I'll decide, which one, if either of you, is lying after you turn in your incident reports by 8am tomorrow." He turned and trudged back towards the building. Nick and Judy were still giving each other confused looks when Inspector Silas Young strolled up to them.

"How'd the new asshole tearing go?"

"Really, not bad at all. I'm still not sure what happened," Judy responded.

"Maybe Clawhauser finally took me up on my offer to spike his coffee with anti-depressants," said Nick.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that, Officer," Silas replied. "But I can explain what happened. Adrian may not show it, but he's ecstatic. We didn't know anything about this 'Big Pete', and we never would have thought someone running a gun-smuggling operation this big could go completely under the radar. It certainly explains a lot of the stuff we've been seeing on the streets, which has been getting worse for some time. It would appear that you, Nick, are an invaluable resource to this department. Not to mention, two officers taking down an operation of this scale is almost unheard of."

"So did you find the armored piercing rifles downstairs?" Judy asked eagerly.

Silas frowned. "Sadly, no. But this is still a great success."

"So, we're back to square one as far as our actual job goes." Nick growled quietly.

"Easy there, I'm friend, not food." Silas said in light tone.

Nick scowled. "Don't tell me you actually think that needs to be said, Silas."

"I don't, it was just a joke. You seem to be willing to joke about yourself, if the blood incident was any precedent. _That_ was a joke, right? Also, I guess I'm not as evolved a mammal as Judy here, so I'm willing to admit that hearing a predator who just gored three mammals that weighed about 15 times as much as him growl does make me a little uneasy."

"Hey! I only broke the one wolf's leg and arm, I never bit him!"

"Oh, that makes me feel so much better."

"Trust me, he's just a harmless puppy, look." Judy reached up and pulled Nick's jaws apart.

"Uh, Ju'y, wha're you doin'?"

Judy stood up in the ambulance, leaned over, and placed her whole head in Nick's mouth, ears poking out the other side. She grabbed his jaws, still limp with surprise, and pulled them together until his teeth met her skin, then looked up at Silas.

"See? Perfectly harmless." She seemed oblivious to the wide-eyed shock and unease on both Nick and Silas' muzzles, as well as the stares from several other officers who saw what was going on. Nick tried to think of naked grandma hippos.

 _Don't get a boner. Don't get a boner. Don't get a boner. Don't get a boner._

After what felt like far too long for everyone involved, Judy tapped Nick's nose, causing him to instantly spring his jaws as far apart as they would go, and she sat back down.

 _I enjoyed that a little too much,_ she thought.

"Well then, I'll just leave you two to it. Do me a favor though, and do some research on pred-prey play before you dive in headfirst, okay?" Silas pivoted and started walking away. Nick recovered first.

"Pig blood's pretty shitty. Wolf blood's where it's at. You should try it some time!" he called out to the retreating ibex, eliciting an audible gagging noise and a raised middle finger.

"So, how about those reports?" Judy asked, her scent spiking as she watched Nick's toothy grin as he waved after Silas.

* * *

Judy sighed and glanced bleary-eyed at the corner of her monitor.

 _9:21pm_

"Ugh," she sighed. "Nick, you almost done with your report yet?"

"I finished hours ago, Carrots."

"Really‽"

 _I'm not sure if I should be mad or impressed._

"Nah, I'm just fucking with ya. I am almost done now though."

"Double ugh. I just finished. Wanna go back to your place once you're done?"

"Well aren't you a forward little rabbit?"

"Would you rather tell me your life story in a diner or with Bucky and Pronk listening? Besides, I definitely think you'd like to have your night of cottontail there, wouldn't you?" She batted her eyelids at him.

 _I'm supposed to have this effect on her, not the other way around,_ Nick thought, shifting his pants around. _She can probably smell_ _ **me**_ _at this point._

Just then he noticed her cute little nose twitching. "You're looking forward to that, aren't ya Nick? Well let me give you a little preview to encourage you. Turn around." Nick spun in his chair to face her.

Judy walked towards him, her hips swinging even more than normal. When she reached him, she gave a lazy turn, keeping her lascivious gaze locked on him over her shoulder, and hopped up into his lap. She gave a little smirk at what she felt after scooting up against his torso, causing Nick to give a what-can-I-say shrug. She started to slowly roll her hips against him, then side-to-side, like she was trying to burrow into his lap. Nick released a low _oooo_ and leaned back in his chair. The combination of his shifting and her movement brought his now fully hard shaft in between her cheeks. Judy had to suppress a look of shock.

 _Oh wow. I mean, I knew he'd be big, but-_

Nick had grabbed her hips and pulled her back towards him. She quickly resumed her rhythm, the motion now thoroughly exaggerated to allow her to trace his whole length.

"Carrots, I love what you're doing, but I'm gonna have to ask you to stop right now, because if you don't I'm going to fuck you right here."

She gave him another smirk and one more extra exaggerated stroke, bending over to allow his heat to meet the wet spot between her thighs, and finishing with a twitch of her tail before sliding back down to the ground. Nick sighed with what could only be relief once she settled back in her chair.

"You bunnies are damn good."

* * *

Nick and Judy were back in Nick's car after grabbing food from one of their favorite takeout joints, a place on the edge of Chinatown called Hymn of the Peach Orchard run by an old ermine and his family. Nick had insisted that he was fit to drive, and was doing pretty well so far. His tail was draped lazily across the center console and into Judy's lap. She was gently stroking it, admiring the silky smoothness almost as much as the intoxicating smell of the Chinese food.

Judy had been mulling over how she wanted to approach this conversation for most of the time that she was filling out the case reports, and all the way to the takeout restaurant. She trusted Nick to be honest and work with her, but she would still have to ask the right questions the right way, or the whole process would be like pulling teeth.

 _Big, sexy, fox teeth._

 _I really need to focus right now, and the food can't cover for me forever._

 _Fine._

She cleared her throat. "So, Nick, about your past, I actually only have one question. Think you can handle it, _big_ guy?" She gave his tail a playful rub and practically purred for emphasis.

Nick smirked. "Shoot."

"Why were Lenny and Big Pete afraid of you?"

Nick's ears went wide. "Well, that's a helluva question ya got there, Carrots. I know you want a real answer, though, so I'll give it to you. _Heh_. But you gotta promise me that this is off the record, okay?"

"I don't see why, but sure. I am now citizen Judy Hopps."

"Well because some of this is still under the statute of limitations. Believe me, I've checked." Nick grinned a little at her frown. "What, you really thought it could all just be some funny coincidence? No, Judy, I've done a lot of bad things in my life. Bad things that I'm ashamed of. That's why I was so scared after the warehouse. I thought I was past that part of my life, that part I'd left years ago, but suddenly it was all coming right back to me-"

"You killed mammals before?" she asked, face full of shock.

"No, Judy." The lack of change in his facial expression did little to assuage her fears. "But I definitely hurt a lot of mammals. Badly. Stuff like what I did today, except you weren't there to stop me. If someone was there they were probably egging me on. I was a fixer. I made deals, moved product, introduced people, negotiated. But I also had to make sure those deals went through, and if people went back on their word, it was my job to change their minds, or make them pay. And let me tell you, it wasn't pretty. You didn't get a job in that business when you're my size unless you were good, and ruthless." Suddenly he was smiling at her. "By the way, did I ever show you any pictures of what I looked like back then? Best shape of my life. Think one of Gazelle's dancers, but, you know, much sexier. And an infinitely better tail."

The abrupt change in tone shocked Judy. "Ok, I _really_ want to see that, mostly 'cuz I don't believe it, but that'll have to come later. You're not getting out of this that easy."

"Oh you better believe it, Fluff." Nick kissed his curled bicep. "These puppies are nothing. Foxes are natural body builders. Lean like cats, strong like wolves. My dad was the strongest guy I ever met."

Judy remembered the ease with which he and Finnick had tossed around the jumbo pop that was twice as tall as Nick. _His biceps do look pretty good. Maybe, just maybe, he's telling the truth._

"Alright, back to business. Plenty of the deals I brokered were working with Pete. He wanted to stay incognito, and it seems to have worked for him, according to Silas, so he only let a few people know about his existence, let alone his whereabouts. I was his main point of contact with the wider criminal element. People would come to me looking to buy, since I know everyone, and I would put them in touch with Pete. I was there all the time since all the examining of products, price haggling, and then actual delivery had to go through me. That's why Lenny knew me so well. Of course, I made a hefty commission on all these transactions, which helped pay for that apartment that you were so impressed with. Then-"

"Wait, wait, wait. You said 'that' apartment. Do you have others?" Nick cringed, and if he didn't have to have his hands on the wheel he probably would have been nervously poking his index fingers against each other. As it were, he reached up with his left paw and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Let's just say all the stuff I did before I shifted to pawpsicle selling paid really well, and it was prudent to have a place or three to lay low for a while. Plus a retirement bungalow in Colombia."

Judy smoothed her ears against the back of her head to control herself.

 _Questions for another time, not now. This is going well._

"Alright, sorry I interrupted you. Continue."

"Well, as I was saying, the falling out with Pete happened after two failed deals. Now naturally, I had to go make the weapon drop off, and then I would come back with Pete's money. This worked for him because it meant that only I would know where he was and my profit rested on successfully completing the deal, and then coming back to pay him if I ever wanted to do it again. It worked for me because I could mark the guns up as high as I wanted from the prices that Pete gave me and I kept all the profit.

"So, I was making a pretty big sale, bunch of ARs, high-powered rifles, and shotguns for some upstart outfit of of wolves in Tundratown. I was in a bad mood since they had been playing with me and acting like they were hot shit, changing plans, trying to wheedle down the price, just generally being asses to prove they were more important than me. So I show up for the exchange, and the jackass had the nerve to just send his sons. Three spoiled gangster kids who thought I was just a lowlife fox meant to serve them. That just made me even madder. Anyways, they tried to cheat me out of the money, and I just went crazy on them.

"I was always careful not to kill someone in my line of work. A body might not lead to a police investigation, but it would lead to a feud with whomever the body had belonged too. Beatings were just a fact of life. But I really pushed my experience to the limit with these kids. They were cocky, thought a fox wouldn't have a chance against three wolves. Before you ask, no they couldn't use the guns I just gave them, I always shipped those locked up and unloaded, separate from the ammo. And of course, you're supposed to show up to these things unarmed, not that that means much for preds.

"Anyways, I had my fun. Toyed with them in the fight, took 'em down one-by-one, then beat and mauled them to the edge of their lives. Two of 'em are still in wheelchairs. And I wasn't kidding when I told Silas I liked wolf blood. That was the night I found out, and it's probably part of why I didn't stop myself sooner with them.

"A beating like that doesn't go unnoticed in the underworld. I took the money and brought the guns back to Pete, but next time I saw him it was clear he and everyone else was treating me differently than they had before. Even most of my closest friends, not that I had many. The loss of the guns, money, sons, and respect pretty much ruined those wolves, which is part of how I fell in with Mr. Big as I transitioned from the hard stuff to peddling rugs.

"Well, after that night I looked at what I had done, and how people treated me now, and I kind of all of sudden realized how unhappy I was. I knew for a fact that my parents would be disgusted with what I had become, with the all the fights my dad got in when the mafia guys came to our tailor shop to offer 'protection'. I wasn't proud of anything I had done, and after that night I could hardly look at myself in the mirror. I kept having nightmares about going savage. But I didn't know how to escape the life I was living after I had been in it for so long.

"So, the next time someone tried to stiff me, and this time I was dealing with other middlemen, which I guess is why they weren't scared to death of me too, I just said 'Fine, not my problem.' So I went back to Pete and told him I didn't have his money and that I wouldn't be making another deal. He of course told me never to come back, although not too rudely. My street cred has obviously fallen since those days.

"I walked away from a lot of my life, and after drifting for a while a friend of mine told me Mr. Big wanted to see me, and I agreed on the condition that I wouldn't be involved in anything violent. I ended up as basically his interior decorator, as well as helping with some negotiations and operations in his legitimate businesses. When that fell through, as you already know, I was left with a lot of burnt bridges and not many places to go. So I jumped from job to job to have something to do, and eventually started the pawpsicle hustle with Finnick so that at least what I was doing was legal, if immoral."

They had long finished the drive back to Nick's apartment, and had been sitting in the still running car in a street parking spot. Nick let out a long sigh to signal that he was done, and Judy realized that she had taken a tight hold of Nick's tail while she listened with rapt attention. She released his tail and straightened the matted fur before giving his tail a little pat and folding her paws neatly in her lap.

"You know," Nick said, "that's the first time I've ever told anyone the whole story. Some people, like Mr. Big, definitely knew the first part, and might have surmised the second part, but I've never spelled it out like that before. Even I hadn't fully conceptualized and accepted it all."

Judy leaned over and pulled Nick into a fierce hug. He was tense at first, then relaxed and hugged her back even harder.

"Nick, I love you and I want you to know this doesn't change anything between us. Except that you better not hold back next time we spar," she said, her muzzle buried in his neck fur. She felt more than heard him chuckle in response.

"Honestly, I wasn't. I didn't know I could still fight like that. I've pretty much been a pacifist since that night, and I obviously stopped going to the gym." He broke the hug and clapped his hands together. "Well! Let's go and eat before this food gets completely cold and we realize how gross it is." Judy laughed and followed him in.

* * *

Nick and Judy each put a chopstick full of chow mein into their mouths, slurping up the noodles until their muzzles met over the takeout box. They giggled and broke apart smiling. This was the third or fourth time they had done that during dinner. The mostly empty bottle of wine on the counter near their food was the only excuse for their corny behavior. It didn't go with the food at all, but that wasn't really the point. For the fourth or fifth time, Nick grabbed a shrimp out of the sweet'n'sour box and held it towards Judy.

"Come on, Ms. Try Everything, give it a chance."

"Fine, but only if it'll shut you up for a while!" They both laughed again, probably louder than the joke deserved. But that wasn't really the point.

"I'll make a predator of you yet," Nick said as Judy munched on the strange, gummy food. "Next you'll have to learn about proper claw and fang care, the physical manifestation of ecstasy that is chicken, and the joy of devouring poor, unsuspecting prey." Judy gave him a playful kick in the shins from her barstool. Nick spun his a quarter turn away and rubbed his leg.

"You wound me, Carrots." Judy responded by throwing a piece of broccoli at him. Nick caught it after it bounced off his head but before it hit his shirt. "Real mature, Judy." He tossed it up, opening his jaws wide to catch it. The scent spike did not go unnoticed to him.

"Aww, you used my real name!"

"Because you're in real trouble, Judith Laverne Hopps, and I'm going to have to take you to bed!"

"Oh no, woe is me, helpless little prey in the big bad fox's lair!" They both laughed again as he scooped her up off her barstool.

"Hush now," he said huskily, plugging her muzzle with his. She wrapped herself around the larger mammal as best she could, savoring the contact between them. Then she realized it would be much better if it was _actual contact_. She leaned back, keeping her legs locked around his torso.

"Help me." She started unbuttoning his shirt, eternally grateful that they had had spare uniforms at work to change into so that she didn't have to remove Nick's bloody Pawaiian shirt. Nick took the cue and lifted her away from him so that she could access the buttons previously covered by her. She then crawled up along his arm until she was sitting on his shoulders.

 _Thank God he has high ceilings._

She pulled his uniform shirt off one arm and then the other, dropping the shirt behind them. They were most of the way to his room now, not that she knew that, and Nick was slowing considerably, savoring the moment. Judy crawled back to his front, allowing him the pleasure of removing her vest and shirt himself. She relished his gentle caress, feeling the pads of his paws gliding over her hips and chest. She returned the favor, admiring the hard lines of his body.

Nick pushed her up against the wall, eliciting a low moan. _That easy huh? She really wants this as much as I do._

"No clothes in the bedroom, young lady." He flashed a devilish, toothy grin. She motioned for him to let her down, then pulled him down so that he was kneeling before her.

"Make me."

Nick nodded his head eagerly and reached for her waist. She batted his paws away. He tried once more before he got the message. He sprang forward, pinning her against the wall more forcefully this time. He pulled her arms up, holding her wrists together above her head with one of his paws. She made only token resistance. With his other he reached down and carefully unlatched her belt, then tugged down her pants, yanking them off over her feet. He released her arms to kneel down once again, grabbing her panties with both paws and delicately tugging them down. He immediately leaned in and took a deep breath of the hot scent that had been driving him crazy for so long, which caused Judy to stifle a giggle. She helpfully stepped out of the panties before tugging him up. Nick stood reluctantly.

He watched as Judy stepped forward and undid his belt, then his pants button, then the zipper, and stood back as the uniform slacks dropped around his ankles. She gasped a little at the sight of Nick in nothing but a pair of briefs, fully erect, then greedily went to pull them down too. In her, admittedly somewhat limited by bunny standards, experience, this was always a lot of fun. But no bunny could compete with Nick. She delighted in the slow tug that never seemed to end, always revealing more and more of his length. _And width_ , she noted. After what seemed like a blissful eternity, his head popped up from the waistband, almost smacking her in the muzzle on the way. She gave the tip a playful lick before pulling his briefs all the way down to his feet and bobbing back to a standing position.

"I'm ready, Mr. Fox!"

 _Oh God she's seen the video. Oh no! Oh no!_

"Take me to your den!"

 _Hrghhhhhh._

 _Control yourself, man! The girl of your dreams is naked and literally begging for you!_

"Be my foxy toy!"

 _She's literally singing the song! How can I not freak out?_

 _Maybe she hasn't seen the video. Or she didn't put two and two together._

 _Yet._

"He he, right this way," he said, scooping her up.

"What's up, Nick?"

"I'm just stunned by your beauty, Fluff. And your pussy. But I swear it's mostly your beauty."

She seemed satisfied by the answer, at least while the fox carried her into his den.

* * *

 **Author's note: This chapter was a blast to write and it just poured out of me. I basically wrote the whole thing (except the first bit with the other officers talking about Nick) in about five hours of writing time over the last two days. That's 1000 words per hour. I still have no idea how I managed that.**

 **On another note, how do y'all feel about more shorter chapters vs. fewer longer ones? I was considering just taking the chapter up to the breakpoint where Silas walks away and publishing that the next day since I was pretty happy with it, but I didn't want to upload a chapter that was only about 1900 words.**

 **Finally, the question of smut. I've been considering upping the rating on the AO3 version of this fic to erotic and adding a lemon here and there. My only issue is that I don't really want the ffn and ao3 versions to be different, but I also don't want to get my fic taken off of ffn for being erotic (although my understanding is that the enforcement of that rule is spotty at best). I also just don't know if I'm really capable of writing good real smut (like a full sex scene). But if you're filthy degenerates like me and want to see me try, let me know. If you like how it is (and don't want it to get any more explicit than this chapter) feel free to say that too. If you want it to be less explicit, well that's probably not gonna happen, but you can still say so.**

 **P.S. Yes, that is an interrobang when Judy says "really" to Nick at the ZPD. I like to use them when I get the chance, even though they're kind of ugly.**

 **P.P.S. I just saw the r/zootopia thread about cliches in fanfic and one of them was long rambly author's notes and of all of them that one made me feel dirty. This author's note is only like 400 words, that's not that bad right?**


	6. Days in the Life

Judy's eyes cracked open. Something felt very wrong. Her eyes alighted on the alarm clock a few feet away from her face. _5:31am_.

 _That's it! No alarm going off! What's happening?_

She suddenly became aware that this was not her room. The walls were too far away, the bed was too large and comfortable, and there was a fox wrapped around her.

 _Oh, right, I'm at Nick's. I wonder when he gets up._

She attempted to gently shift away, but the movement caused spasms of pain to wrack her body. At the same time, she felt Nick's arms pulling her back into him. She was now aware of a not-so-dull ache that seemed to radiate from her core out to her whole body.

"Ugh, what did you do to me, fox?" she mumbled.

"I was gonna say the same thing," Nick slurred. He parted his jaws to let out a yawn, then rolled over to stretch his limbs. He let out a quick yelp at the searing pain as he pulled on taut muscles and quickly curled back into a ball. "You know, they say the more it hurts the next day, the better the sex was."

"Then we must have knocked it out of the park. Whoop-dee-fucking-doo," Judy groaned. She flopped onto her back and then shimmied up against the pillows and headboard, cringing at the effort of lifting her torso off the bed. "I feel like a just sparred against Bogo for an hour and a half."

"Still got it." Nick made a weak attempt to hold his paw out for a fist bump. Judy tried to swat his paw away but found the pain in her flank not worth the effort of moving her arm. She settled for trying to examine the room before realizing she could barely see anything.

"Nicky, can you get the lights?"

"Why don't you?"

"In case you haven't noticed, I can barely _move!"_

"Ugh, fine. But only if you never call me Nicky again." Nick grunted as he scooted over to the edge of the bed, then rolled off of it onto the floor.

"You okay over there? And why can't I call you Nicky?" Nick stood up, wobbling, and steadied himself on the edge of the bed.

"Because a) it's far too ungodly an hour for us to be talking about anything, b) I'm the one who makes up cute nicknames, and c) only my mother calls me that." He started trudging towards the light switch by the door.

"But you like being called Slick."

"That's not cute, it's cool." Nick flicked the lights on, then shot finger guns at Judy. She rolled her eyes in response.

"Fine, get back here and warm me up then."

"With pleasure."

Nick took a couple steps forward, then slowly lowered himself onto all fours. He leapt into the air following a high arc and landed standing over Judy, sinking deep into the memory foam of the mattress.

"Show off."

"You're just jealous of my foxy superpowers," he said, collapsing on top of her. They both sighed contentedly while drifting back into sleep.

* * *

"Doc, I swear, I'm fine."

"The mere fact that you assert that does not make it true."

Nick glared at the shrew who sat in an elevated armchair across from him. A plaque on the desk to his left read, in tiny font, 'Dr. Andrew Chettleberry, ZPD Psychologist'.

"Then how do I prove it?" the fox pleaded.

"By answering my questions seriously, Officer Wilde. It's not everyday that we have a new officer get involved in a lethal firefight, let alone be the one who caused that lethality, then the next day he's beating and mauling three mammals senseless."

"It was all self-defense, I feel fine about it."

"That is precisely the problem. Why aren't you more shaken up?"

Nick grabbed his chest in an expression of horror. "Doc, I just realized, I feel horrible. So guilty. I've gotta go to church and say a thousand hail-Marys right now. Thanks for the help, buh-bye."

"Not so fast, Officer Wilde." Nick froze, halfway out of his chair. His ears slumped against the back of his skull and he slid back into his seat, crossing his arms. "Look I understand that you think everything is ok, and outwardly you certainly seem like your normal, agitating self, but I need to confirm that that is true, or you could be a danger to yourself and your fellow officers."

"Alright, so whaddya wanna know?"

"As I said, why aren't you more concerned? A rookie shouldn't have been able to do what you did, let alone so calmly. I will remind you that everything you say here is strictly confidential. You can tell me anything."

"Unless you have a reasonable belief that I am mentally unfit for the job, which can mean whatever you want it to." Nick smirked.

Dr. Chettleberry sighed. "Yes, you are correct there Officer Wilde. But if you don't cooperate you will be placed on desk duty until you do."

Nick sighed, defeated. "Alright, alright. I'll talk."

"Excellent. Let's start somewhere easier. How did you feel the night after the warehouse?"

 _Maybe a little bit of truth will help me get out of this sooner._

"Honestly, I was pretty shaken up. But I talked to Judy about it and she consoled me, and I feel fine now."

Now it was the shrew's turn to smirk. "Oh really? She _consoled_ you? How nice."

Nick's muzzle immediately twisted into a snarl. "Hey! It wasn't like that! And I won't have you talking about my partner like that."

"Alright, sore subject, I apologize. I must say I can't imagine what it must feel like to have my relationship be the main subject of the office rumor mill."

"About half as bad as it being about you being some kind of psycho-killer."

"And how does that make you feel?"

 _In for a penny, in for a pound._

Nick looked straight at the shrew, his face emotionless. "Scared."

"And why is that?"

 _Finally, we're getting somewhere_ , though Dr. Chettleberry.

"Because what if they're right? I wasn't exactly thinking clearly at the warehouse or especially Pete's. Just 'hurt bad guys, protect Judy'."

Dr. Chettleberry nodded while scribbling on a notepad.

"Uh-oh. You haven't gotten that out yet, doc. That's a bad sign. I should not have said that."

"No, I'm glad you did. If you said you felt completely in control, then I might have been worried. As it stands, I think you're fine, although you'll be seeing more of me in the future. If for no other reason than because department regulations require eight weeks of counseling after a life-or-death scenario."

"So, I'm free to go and keep working on the case?" Nick was ecstatic.

"Yes, run along now. And send in your partner, would you?"

* * *

Judy fidgeted in her chair, her foot swinging aimlessly with nothing to tap on.

The shrew looked up from his notepad. "Do go on, Officer Hopps."

"What more can I tell you? I feel perfectly safe around Nick, and so should everyone else. There's nothing wrong with him, believe me." _Probably not my place to go prattling on about his criminal background though, medical privacy or not._

"And how do you know that?"

Now Judy was getting frustrated. Why wouldn't this stupid therapist just take no for an answer? "Because he's my partner and I've known him longer than any of you! Nick's a _good_ mammal. Everyone knows he's perfectly harmless and jokey all the time. He just gets… aggressive… when he fights."

"That's a bit of an understatement. Where would have learned to fight like that anyways? Certainly not at the academy. His police training might have explained the warehouse shootout. He was a star student, especially in marksmammalship, and there was a reason besides prejudice that the ZPD used to be all predator. Like it or not, we're not all the same, and preds tend to respond a bit _ah,_ _better_ in fight-or-flight situations than most prey. You know, more… fightey."

Judy was caught. Lie and say she didn't know about the past of her partner that she claimed to know well, or tell him about Nick's criminal past.

 _Or invent some other explanation._

 _Oh great idea. He wasn't a mobster, just involved in illegal underground pred cage matches._

 _Maybe that's just how fox martial arts work?_

 _Oh yeah I'm sure he'd buy that. And if he did, how would that help to have everyone distrust Nick and all foxes even more?_

 _Ugh. So whaddo I do?_

 _Beats me._

 _You're a real help._

Dr. Chettleberry cleared his throat. "Officer Hopps, hello?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry. Just lost in thought there."

"Yes, I saw. We were discussing Officer Wilde's fighting prowess…" He inclined his muzzle at her.

"Shouldn't you be asking him about that, not me?" _Aha! Got him there. Let Slick Nick deal with that._

"Hmmm, perhaps. Well we do know after that whole affair with you and Officer Wilde in the ambulance, and the lack of your usual energy today, that you and Officer Wilde are still getting along swimmingly. Since you don't seem to be showing any adverse effects otherwise from your recent ordeals, I see no reason to keep you here. See you next week!" he finished cheerily with what Judy was sure was a very unprofessional shit-eating grin. She fumed at his insinuation as she slowly and painfully made her way out.

 _It's not like it's not obvious. I'm surprised more people haven't mentioned it yet if I'm honest._

Nick was waiting for her outside, and as she came out of the door he quickly sprang out of his chair and walked over. Despite his commiserating with her this morning, it was now clear that she was the worse for wear of the two of them.

 _I'm going to have to change that for rabbit pride._

"Hey Carrots. He manage to discover your Oedipus Complex?" He generously bent down so that she could punch his shoulder without making any extra effort. The hobbling bunny gladly complied.

"Look at me, Fluff. Going all soft on you now that you've been fox-dicked."

"I'll show you soft!" Judy attempted to jump onto his back and strangle him, but found that her legs refused to move once she squatted down to begin the jump. "Nick, a little help here?"

He turned, not having noticed her sudden stop, and burst out into laughter at the bunny who had now rolled over onto her side on the floor. "Right away Grandma Hopps!" He continued in a falsetto, "Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!"

* * *

As acting detectives Nick and Judy had some new privileges that they hadn't enjoyed before. Besides much more discretion over how they spent their time on the clock, they now had access to the majority of the ZPD's facilities. Currently, they were in records, surveying everything that was known about the Ney crime family.

"Huh, it says here they almost never hire or work with preds," Judy remarked.

"Their loss," Nick replied without looking up from the file he was surveying.

"You're not bothered by that?"

"I've seen far worse, especially from mafia families."

"So, you find anything yet?"

"I'm reading over the testimonies from the mammals they caught in the SUV I stopped. They wouldn't say anything. Those Ney guys must be scary."

"That's for sure. They and their affiliates have been involved in six shoot outs with the ZPD this year alone. Plus countless murders and missing mammal cases."

"Damn. They make Mr. Big look like a pussy cat."

"Don't make me tell him that next time I hang out with Fru-Fru."

"You wouldn't dare put your fox in danger." Nick batted his eyes at her.

"Talk to Wolford, your puppy face needs work."

* * *

Nick and Judy sat behind the one-way mirror and watched the ram who seemed to be melting before their eyes. They had spent two days like this now, while Paul Olafsson, a lieutenant in the Vice Squad, grilled the three mammals that had been in the SUV. Now they had finally made a breakthrough thanks to the intimidating polar bear. Nick put down his notepad and grinned. He enjoyed watching a master at work, no matter what they were doing. Next to him, Judy was barely suppressing a giggle.

"Well, looks like we'll finally have a lead to follow up. Shame that we're off duty for the next two days," Nick said without looking away from the scene. Judging by Paul's reaction, it appeared that the ram had actually just wet his pants.

"Ugh. I forgot about that. You sure we can't convince Bogo to let us work?" Judy's chipper mood was instantly dashed.

"Already tried. He said that he would have considered it, but with the 'mental health concerns'," Nick rolled his eyes and shook his paws, "he's insisting that we at least take this break. But you know what that does mean?"

"What?" Judy was once again engrossed in watching Lieutenant Olafsson.

"Today's your favorite day, Carrots: Sparring Day!" It was department policy that officers complete either hand-to-hand combat training or marksmammalship training on the last day of each duty rotation.

"You ready to get rocked, Fox?"

"You wish. I'm sure we'll have quite a crowd today. Maybe even bigger than the first time."

* * *

Nick was right, he and Judy had drawn their biggest crowd yet. Nearly every officer on duty—every one that could make a halfway decent excuse—was there. Even Chief Bogo had showed up to see how the wonderbunny would hold up against the fox. They were always a good show to watch, seeming to trade off who got the better of the other depending on the day, but everyone assumed they would be much more serious today than they normally were.

Nick stood in the middle of the ring, wearing a pair of boxing shorts and nothing else. Judy was leaning against the ropes, yanking on her gloves, headgear already on.

"You still sure you wanna do this, Carrots?"

"We have to spar ya dumb fox."

"Yeah but we could just box like we normally do, or work some jiu-jitsu."

"I told you no holding back, Nick. Now get over here so I can punch that stupid grin off your muzzle."

"Alright, but you asked for it." Judy slapped her gloves together, giving Nick a _bring-it_ gesture as she started circling.

 _Here we go. Let's get this over with,_ Nick thought. He dropped on all fours and raced towards her, closing the gap before she had time to react. He slammed into her, paws moving to pin her arms when they hit the ground. Before she could even try to twist free, his jaws closed around her neck, stopping precisely when he felt the skin beneath her fur start to push back against his teeth.

Their eyes met for a moment, a look of mostly confusion and shock in Judy's and something between apologetic and gloating in Nick's. Then he released her and sat back on his knees, still in a mount position over her. Nick looked around and noticed the shocked silence filling the room. He considered his next words.

"What, I mean did anyone _really_ think that a _bunny_ could beat a fox?"

 _I really should have seen that coming,_ he thought as Judy's gloved fist connected with his jaw. Nick rolled over with the blow and was back on all fours, facing Judy as she hopped to her feet. He had to momentarily resist the urge to snarl or growl.

 _Do I really want to rub it in?_

 _After that punch? Yes, yes I do._

With a flick of his tail he charged towards her again. Again, Judy was either too slow or too shocked to be able to do anything about the larger mammal barreling into her. This time Nick just lowered his muzzle until it was inches away from hers.

"You know, pred vs. prey with boxing gloves, this isn't gonna go any other way."

"Watch me!" she spat back.

 _Maybe I shouldn't rub it in too hard._

"Fine," he said, again rising to a sitting position. "One more round for all the marbles, then we go back to normal sparring." He got up and stepped back a few paces. He tilted his head to the side when he saw Judy taking off her gloves.

"What're you doin', Carrots?"

"Well, we're obviously not boxing, so I see no need for these." She pulled off the padded helmet and tossed it and the gloves to the side of the ring. She lowered herself onto all fours. "Bring it, Fox!"

"Oo, have I inspired another disciple? Cast off thine wicked ways and walk as God meant for thee, my child," he shouted as he lowered himself onto all fours and began to stalk towards the bunny. He saw her nose begin to twitch as he got within a few feet of her. As he raised his left paw for another step forward, she bolted to the right, and they were off.

The assembled crowd watched the grey and russet streaks criss-cross the ring, occasionally bouncing off the ropes, other times following the edge like they were running laps, then spiraling towards the middle before shooting off in a new direction again. Just when everyone was beginning to lose hope that anything at all would happen, Nick and Judy tumbled to stop in heap. Nick had Judy wrapped up in his arms, and they were both laughing like madmammals. They only stopped once they started kissing.

"Alright, we've all seen enough here, everyone back to your posts," Chief Bogo bellowed over the rising hoots and hollers at the couple. "Hopps, Wilde, you're done for the day. Go shower and enjoy that on your weekend, not in my precinct!"

Nick snapped upright and give Chief Bogo a salute. "Right away, Chief! Hopps, let's go shower and fuck in my car!" Judy facepawed. Bogo fixed Nick with a look that would have had any mere mortal whimpering in the corner while the chuckling officers filed out of the gym, some moving quickly to escape any collateral from Bogo's wrath, others attempting to linger to see what would happen next. "On second thought, maybe we should wait until we get home and never bring this up with the you again, Chief. That sounds like a plan." Nick and Judy nearly sprinted out of the gym as the chief's steely gaze followed them. Once they were gone he sighed.

"I've got to pawn them off to Silas permanently before I get heart palpitations."

* * *

Anna Burford was having a very bad day. She attempted to shake her head to clear her swimming thoughts, only to be arrested by the jarring pain in her neck and skull. She settled for letting her head loll to the side and spitting out a loose tooth that her tongue had just discovered. She lifted her muzzle back up to face the dark silhouette that stood over her.

"You learned your lesson yet, Badger?" the other mammal asked.

 _Why give them the satisfaction if I'm going to die anyways?_

Anna managed a weak chuckle. "Oh sure, all horses are dicks, it's not just you." The huge, hooved fist crashed into her chest again, making her already ragged breathing come even more unevenly.

 _Can't be good for my asthma._

The laugh caused by her own joke sent her into a coughing fit. Just as the horse was about to strike her again the door to the small room opened.

"Boss, we need ya outside." Archibald Ney turned away from the badger towards the light of the open door, giving Anna her only brief view of his face. As he walked out of the room she heard him speak to the unseen voice.

"Take the beast and dump it back in front of its shop."

"Right away, Boss."

* * *

Archibald clomped into his office and dropped into the chair behind his expansive desk. Ornate wood carvings of scenes from horse mythology separated him from the other mammal in the room. His brother, Angstrom, was leaning against a wall, waiting for him. The two aging horses looked at each other for a moment before speaking. They were both in their 40s. Archibald had always cut the more imposing figure of the two, and was still in remarkably good shape despite the wear and tear of 25 years building and running a criminal empire. Angstrom had always been more bookish, and even now with all his wealth he still preferred to wear simple khakis, a collared shirt, and a sweater, as opposed to the fine, tailored suit his brother wore.

"What happened, Angstrom? I was having fun with that troublesome badger from Plainview."

"Yes, well this is rather more pressing, brother. The ZPD is apparently hot on our heels after the warehouse shootout. Already our informants are telling us that detectives are combing the whole city trying to figure out where the guns came from, how they got into the city, and what we plan to do with them. A few days ago they raided and took down Big Pete, apparently mistaking him for our supplier. What's more, it was done by only two officers, that fox and rabbit duo."

"So Nick Wilde is willing to turn all his old friends and enemies over to the ZPD. That's troublesome, but more so for others than us. We'll have to be more careful for now though, especially with the next shipment."

"Also, sources in the Precinct 1 jail say that they're raking the mammals that got caught or injured over the coals for info. One of them's bound to break soon."

"That shouldn't give them much more than Precinct 8 up here already knows."

"Remember, they have Ronny Carrero. He knows a lot about the operation and if he feels like we've abandoned him, he'll squeal to save his hide. We need to get him out of there, or at least give him hope."

"Fine. Handle it." Angstrom nodded and walked out, leaving his brother to brood alone in his office.

* * *

The ram Nick and Judy had observed being interviewed was now sitting in a conference room with _his_ lawyer, not the one the Neys had sent for him. He signed his name for the final time on the document before him. _Ronny Carrero._ As the Neys had feared, he was turning over a full testimony in order to erase the charges against him and get into witness protection. He'd be going far away from Zootopia, and he had enough of his own money squirreled away to pay the lawyer's hefty fee for a such a quick—and excellent—job, and to supplement his new life. He put the heavy, elegant pen down and looked over to the lawyer, another ram, who only nodded. They both stood and walked back out to the waiting lieutenant.

* * *

Anna's head bounced around under the rough fabric of the hood that blocked her vision and much of her sense of smell. The van hit another bump, giving her aching _everything_ a fresh jolt of pain. The van came to an abrupt halt, flinging her forward into the dividing wall between the cargo cabin in which she had been lying and the driver's cabin. The two horses up front laughed at her cry of pain and shuddering breaths. She heard doors opening, then the rough grip of hooves dragging her across the floor of the van, finally pulling her out the rear doors and dropping her on the ground. She got a few kicks for good luck, then the hoofsteps receded, the doors slammed closed, and the engine coughed to life and sputtered away.

* * *

 **Author's note: Well this is certainly an interesting chapter. I knew from the beginning that I wanted it to be a collection of disparate scenes because I wanted to skip time forwards in order to get the plot moving faster without having this case wrap up in some ridiculously short timeframe like three days. I also really wanted to find a way to work in the Nick vs. Judy fight.**

 **I actually had a lot more trouble with that than I expected though. The first time I wrote it, it was almost 2k words with the tone of the chapter 4 fight scene. It was just way too dark, it felt like Nick and Judy were really fighting, and it didn't have a happy ending. Also, the way I was writing it Nick sounded like Kakashi shitting on beginning of series Naruto or something like that, which was both silly and plain bad writing. Both times I struggled with what I feel the reality of Nick fighting Judy (especially my take on Nick) should be, while not making Judy seem weak or worthless. I think I found a decent balance with their being fairly evenly matched in traditional boxing, whereas when he fights dirty and uses his natural advantages she doesn't have much recourse (which makes sense because foxes are predators that eat bunnies).**

 **I'm also actively trying to find a way to showcase how her mind/way of thinking can complement Nick, which is what makes them such a great pair of cops (as opposed to just friends/lovers) and would be the only reason Bogo wouldn't split them up.**

 **P.S. I'm having a lot of fun creating characters in the world of Zootopia. I just need to make sure I don't let it get away from me.**

 **P.P.S. I've been watching Brandon Sanderson's Writing 318 lecture series on youtube, and I feel like I'm learning so much. It's already influenced parts of this chapter, and how I want to write the rest of this story, and just taught me so much more about writing since I have no formal training in creative writing. I highly recommend it if you're into writing fanfics or even just want to understand the process more. I find it all fascinating, even though it makes me wish I could restart this whole story from the beginning with more planning, since I'm mostly discovery writing the whole thing.**

 **P.P.P.S. He's also got a podcast called Writing Excuses that I've started to listen to. They've got roughly a million episodes recorded already if you're looking for something to spend time on.**


	7. Weekend Cut Short

The ZPD break room door slammed open, followed by Benjamin Clawhauser's wide form filling the doorframe. The mammals in the room looked up. Whenever Clawhauser was in a hurry, it meant either something very bad had happened, or very funny.

"You guys won't believe what I just saw! So, I've been talking to Judy about what kind of music they listen to in Bunnyburrow, I figured, ya know, try everything and whatever-"

"What's your point, Ben. We're working here." McRoary gestured to the pin-up magazine he and several other officers were examining.

"No no no! This is the point! I was listening to some of the bunny music, watching the music videos, and you guys won't believe what's in this one!"

"This better be good," grumbled McHorn, reluctantly standing up.

"Oh it's more than good. You guys'll be making fun of Wilde 'til he retires." That perked their interest. Opinions among the ZPD's finest on the force's first and only fox varied, but no one would pass up the opportunity to give him a taste of his own, smug medicine.

The officers went from skeptical interest, to shock, to uncontrollable guffawing as they watched none other than Nicholas Wilde appear in a Carrot Pop video, dancing shirtless.

Wiping a tear from his eye once the video was over, Fangmeyer asked the all important question: "Does Hopps know about this?"

* * *

On that fine Saturday morning, Mr. Fox was still asleep, curled up in a ball that threatened to spill off the edge of Judy's tiny bed. Said bunny was also fast asleep, her head and torso burrowed into the middle of Nick's ring of fluff, legs drooped over his back. They were rudely awoken by a banging on the wall.

"Hey, you freaks up yet?"

"What'd you do to Judy, fox? She's always up early."

"Maybe he misunderstood her when she asked him to eat her."

"Did you eat Judy, fox?"

"You two have no right to complain about noise!" Judy yelled back groggily. Nick merely giggled. He had convinced Judy to let him come back to her place in order to experience what he dubbed 'The Bucky and Pronk Show' first-paw. Of course, he had also wanted to give them a show, which he had convinced Judy was revenge for how much they annoyed her.

"Hey, everyone has a right to complain."

"Then we have every right to be loud," Nick yawned.

"The villain speaks! How dare you come here and disturb our lovely, peaceful apartment!"

"It was all quiet and calm with our sweet little Judy, then _you_ had to come here and soil her innocence!"

"You two are worse than my mother!" Judy shouted. "Just let us go back to sleep!" She attempted, futilely, to cover her ears with a pillow.

"I'll bet you're tired after last night! Ow! Don't hit me!"

"Don't make sexual innuendos about our Judy!"

"Don't tell me what to do!"

"You're right," Nick said, "It does sort of just fade into the background after a while. Huh."

"I heard that, fox!"

"Hey! Focus on me when I'm yelling at you, Pronk!"

"Let me yell at the evil fox, Bucky!"

And just as quickly they had forgotten Nick and Judy, who likewise tried to ignore Bucky and Pronk.

"I don't think we're getting back to sleep, Carrots," Nick said, straightening out so that his feet and tail hung off the end of the bed.

"I know something else we could do…" Judy stared at Nick mischievously. He avoided her eyes.

"Won't that just get their attention again?" he groaned.

"I don't care if you don't." She rebutted. Nick was on top of her in a flash.

"Alrighty then, let's go my little bun-bun!"

"There's the Nick I know. Now let's get you ready to go." Judy rolled him over, which was a surprisingly delicate process on account of the space constraints in the tiny bed. She held her paws against his chest lightly to keep him from following her as she slid down his torso. She made a few stops along the way to kiss and nuzzle his coarse fur and the hard muscles underneath. By the time she worked her way down to his dick, Nick was clearly already 'ready to go.' Judy, however, had other plans.

Judy began by just licking up and down the back while rubbing the sides with her paws. She continued with this for a while, occasionally nibbling on the tip or other random points up and down his length. She considered it the equivalent of how he loved to hold her in his jaws, and she could tell that he loved it just as much as she did. Nick let out a low noise halfway between a whine and a growl, that noise so particular to foxes that meant she was doing a _really_ good job.

Just as Judy was slipping her lips over the head, her phone began to ring. She waved it off when Nick motioned to grab it off the nightstand. He was soon too distracted to care. He heard a _pop_ as Judy pulled his dick out of her mouth.

"Claws, Nick! CLAWS!"

"Oh, right, sorry." Nick sheepishly let go of the sheets, and smoothed the scrunched up fabric with his paws, checking for holes or tears. Thankfully, there were none. He interlaced his fingers and rested his paws behind his head. He had never even thought that prey wouldn't have to pay the exorbitant prices for reinforced sheets only to invariably have to replace them after anything go too heated.

"Did you hurt Judy, Fox?"

"Fuck off or we'll just skip to the part where I make her scream for 30 minutes!" Nick yelled back.

"And his name is Nick!" Her eyes met his, and they both snickered as Bucky and Pronk went back to arguing. Nick's phone started ringing as Judy went back down on him. He gave a shrug and grabbed it. Nick saw Silas' caller ID, flashed it to Judy, then swiped to accept the call. Judy redoubled her efforts.

"Yello?"

"Nick, it's Silas, glad I caught you. We've got big news."

"What's going on?" Nick sat up, looking about as serious as he could with Judy still blowing him.

"Well, a badger just turned up in precinct 8 beaten half to death. A butcher, by the name of Anna Burford. Apparently she's had run-ins with the Neys before. She's the type who wouldn't let them offer her 'protection' or take over her neighborhood without a fight. Anyways, she says it was Archibald Ney himself that did this to her. Big news, eh?"

All Nick could manage in reply was an _Mmmmmmmmm._

Silas snorted into the receiver. "Allow me to offer my greetings to Judy as well. I figured she'd be the more responsible of you two, which is why I called her first, but I guess she's a little occupied-"

Nick burst out laughing. Judy was staring back him with her cute face, his dick running along her snout and off her head between her ears. He quickly switched to his camera app and snapped a couple photos, causing Judy to pose with a devilish grin for the second. "Oh my God, Silas, if only you could see what she's doing right now." He trailed off laughing again.

"I think I'd rather not. You'll find I'm rather boring if you talk to the other detectives."

"Alright, but you're missing out." Nick was still giggling, and Judy had started stroking his cock by pulling her ears around it and bobbing her head back and forth. "Silas, I don't think I can stay on the phone much longer, but I promise we'll be in the precinct in an hour. Unless you want to me to leave it on speaker."

 _I've got to find a way to get at him that doesn't rely on making him uncomfortable._

 _Eh, problems for another day._

"Just make sure you two shower. I don't want to think about what it took to make her smell like you all day after that whole mess at Big Pete's, but you two managed it. See you in an hour." As he hung up Judy blushed a little with Nick's dick back in her mouth, a ridiculous sight that prompted another photo shoot.

"I'm gonna assume you heard all that, right Carrots?"

"Yep. Don't you worry your big, fluffy tail about us getting there on time, I'll have you done in a minute."

"Oh I'm going to make it a point of pride that we're late now."

* * *

"Nick!"

"What? I couldn't let you have all the satisfaction of winning."

"Your cum is all over me and my apartment!"

"I'm just marking my territory like a good canid!"

"This is gonna take forever to clean up!"

"How was I supposed to know that my little innocent country bumpkin surprise licking my asshole would feel so good?" He crossed his arms defensively. Judy sighed and reached for his tail. She felt an iron grip stop both arms cold.

"Ground rules: you can do whatever you want with the rest of me, but never mess with my tail. That includes using it to wipe up my cum. Trust me, I've tried, it ruins the sheen and takes forever to get out."

"Ew. Fine, just help me wipe this up and let's get showered." Nick's rough tongue was not what she was expecting to feel all over her head. Or his lips locking with hers. When she realized Nick was collecting his cum and dumping it in her mouth, she both rolled her closed eyes and pressed the kiss deeper for more.

* * *

Twenty minutes of cramped shower sex later, she and Nick were walking down the hallway from the shared bathroom back to her apartment. Nick's still semi-hard dick was very visible through the bunny-sized towel wrapped around his waist. They rounded the corner, only to find none other than Judy's landlord coming down the hallway. Judy cringed. Nick remained cool and smug as always.

 _I really hate how comfortable he looks in situations like this._

"Oh, ha ha, hello Mrs. Armadillo." Judy gave a small wave.

"Nick Wilde, a pleasure Mrs. Armadillo, I'm sure." When Nick stood back up from shaking the armadillo's paw, Judy noticed how he stayed where he had taken a step forwards, leaving his cock mere inches from the hunched over mammal's face.

 _He's enjoying this, that bastard!_

 _I'll bet he's hoping I'll get evicted so I have to live with him._

Mrs. Armadillo gave Nick a slow once-over, eyes lingering on his chest, and longer on the very obvious focal point in front of her.

"He seems like nice guy. I'm glad you weren't so loud last night all by self. Now run along, I need get to market." Nick gave an energetic wave as the old mammal hobbled by, then yelped as Judy grabbed his dick and dragged him back to her apartment.

"You are going to be the death of me, Fox. Now let's get dressed and get to work."

"Ah, shit!" Nick exclaimed.

"What now?"

"I meant to dress all snazzy to show up that boar, Al Truffler. Now I'm gonna show up in day-old, wrinkled, bunny-smelling clothes."

"So, any given Tuesday?" Judy relished the silence as Nick poutily got dressed.

* * *

It was nearly 10am when Nick and Judy walked into the Precinct 1 building from the employee parking lot. The sun shone brightly overhead on the cloudless day, which went unnoticed by the busy mammals. Nick was still trying in vain to straighten out his rumpled shirt. Judy giggled at the fox's meticulous efforts.

 _He cares about how he looks a lot more than those Pawaiian shirts let on. Of course I should have realized that from the beginning considering how well he takes care of his fur, especially his tail._

Nick gave up and looked up, catching her staring at him.

"Am I really that dreamy, Fluff?"

"It's just funny seeing you try so hard to look presentable."

 _Then again, he does look pretty awesome. Did he already start dressing better for me?_

Nick was wearing a white button down shirt that fit his post-academy physique much better than those loose Pawaiian ones. It was tucked in, _tucked in,_ to some black trousers that accentuated his lithe form. The trousers were held up by an elegantly simple belt, which Judy was sure meant it cost more than she made in a week. He'd even put on a less garish blue and red tie. Even the wrinkles couldn't make Nick look bad.

Judy was wearing a lavender pantsuit that went well with her fur and eyes. She resented the small, black purse that hung over her shoulder. One of her favorite parts of being a cop was having everything she needed on her utility belt, leaving her free to do anything with her arms. A simple white blouse peaked out from beneath her jacket, and a little gold necklace with a green stone completed the look.

 _I've got to find something more comfortable and active that I can wear while we're doing this._

 _Maybe I'll just have to get some khakis and collared shirts like the others._

Clawhauser was thoroughly impressed when he saw the pair coming in.

"Look at my two favorite acting detectives! Finally decided to dress the part! Oh, Bogo'll just have to promote you two now!"

"Thanks, Benji. Just wait until you see me when I'm really trying to look good."

"I'd love to talk, Ben, but we're really in a hurry. See ya later!" Judy chirped.

"Aww, alright. Don't get yourselves into another mess when you're in nice clothes, though, okay?" The pair laughed and waved back to the big cheetah.

* * *

When they got to the Organized Crime briefing room, Silas was already waiting there, along with Al, Allen, and Maggie. All three sat at front row desks, and were watching Silas intently while he briefed them, occasionally referring to some photos and a map of the Meadowlands taped up on the wall behind him.

"Ah, Nick, Judy, good to see you here. I apologize for pulling you away from your love-making, excuse me, lovely weekend. But we have a situation on our hands." While the others sniggered at the jab and Nick appeared to be determined to just act as if nothing had been said, Judy felt inspired by the fox-gods of chaos themselves. She jumped up and hung with her arms wrapped around Nick's neck.

"Any time with my foxywoxykins is equally wonderful, whether we're at home or on the job!" She finished with an exaggerated smooch. Even the tight lipped Silas had to laugh, especially at Nick's look of genuine surprise at the bunny's actions.

"Alright, now that that's settled, here's the latest: the FBI is putting together a task-force to finally crack down on the Neys now that this has become such a big story since your exploits at Big Pete's got out to the media. Oh yeah, expect a lot of bullshit on TV for the next week or so. I'm putting all six of us on the task force. We'll be working with some detectives from Precincts 5 and 8, and a bunch of FBI agents, but I'll be liasoning. Our boss is Agent-in-Charge Saul Patterson, a black bear, heard he's a good guy.

"Practically speaking, we'll be working officially out of an annex of the federal building in Snowy Hills, North Tundratown. We shouldn't actually be spending much time there since they want us mostly for footwork up in the Meadowlands. So we'll be working out of a safehouse with the Precinct 8 guys. Preds aren't too common in the Meadows, although smaller species are common enough to pass. Since we know you two can take care of yourselves, Nick and Judy will be working there. I'll be on the streets with Al so that we have another pair of eyes. Maggie and Allen will mostly be working from the safehouse or as backup/intel.

"This is obviously still dangerous, so I want everyone to stick with their partners. The goal is a lightning speed, legal takedown of the Ney's organization. That means we need to find hard evidence of crimes, so that we can charge the kingpins, and fast. Probable cause needs to be used with extreme caution, because they'll already be tiptoeing enough after the events of the last four days, so we don't want to drive them to ground by raiding apartment blocks. Any questions?"

"They got the good cots up there, or are they still struggling with the whole color TV thing?" Al drawled.

"I am assured by my colleague in Precinct 8, a horse by the name of Ellie Oates by the way, that their facility is quite nice. They spend most of their time doing this type of thing but without the massive resources we now have."

"You sure we can trust her? I mean, she is a horse," Nick asked.

"Nick, I'm sure you of all people don't need to be told about the dangers of speciesist thinking. There are thousands of horses in the Meadowlands, they're not all part of the mob."

"I'll admit, that was in poor taste. I apologize."

"Silas, you're a miracle worker." Judy continued to stare in wonder at what she had just witnessed.

"I guess we'll have plenty of time to see if Al taught you anything about fighting yet, eh Allen?" Maggie asked. The cheetah turned to the beefier panther.

"Just you wait, Vines."

"That is an offensive slur," she deadpanned. Judy was starting to feel uncomfortable when the rest of the room broke out in barks of laughter. She still wasn't used to how the denizens of Zootopia calmly walked the line between her prudish avoidance of racially-charged phrases and outright bigotry.

"So what are we doing at this very instant?" Maggie asked once they had all calmed down.

"You all have a few hours off while I make some calls and last minute plans. Go make whatever arrangements you need to go off standard duty for an indeterminate amount of time, and grab anything you think we'll need. We'll reconvene at 1400 to pack up shop." The assembled mammals nodded in recognition, and the scraping of chairs and shuffle of movement began as they left the room.

"What the Hell have those two gotten us into?" Silas wondered aloud to the evidence board once he was alone again.

* * *

"Hey can we tag along with you, Al? I wanna see what kind of fancy desks you guys get." Judy hopped up beside the big boar with Nick only a half step behind her, although he tried to hide his interest.

"Oh now yer lookin' to make first bunny detective, eh? You know you're supposed to spend three years on the beat first, right? You're more'n two years short of that, 'n your partner's so green I thought he was a tree at first." Judy and Allen both snickered while Nick flashed a pouty face. "Awright, I'm just messin' with ya. Come on you two. With what you've done so far I wouldn't be surprised if you make detective soon."

* * *

"Welcome. Mi casa es su casa." Allen made an elaborate paw gesture, then pulled open the door.

"It's barely bigger than our cubicle! And you guys are like five times our size!" Judy exclaimed.

"Ah, but it's got a door. And the frosted glass of management." Al stroked the opaque window lovingly.

"Okay, we can't give you two all our trade secrets just yet, run along and we'll see you at lunch or in the conference room," Allen said.

"Don't get lost in their you two. And don't forget your 'World's Greatest Partner' mugs when you pack. I'm sure we'll be drinking tons of coffee." Nick gave a little wave to their embarassed muzzles and dipped out the doorway. Allen stuck his head out to call after him, only to find the tip of the fox's tail disappearing around a corner. Allen ducked back into the room.

"How did he?" He made a few inarticulate gestures with his paws. Judy gave a knowing laugh.

"He loves to do that. Pulled it on me a couple times the first day I met him. If I'm honest, I'm still not sure exactly how he does it."

"Guess he's always got a few tricks up his sleeve. That's good, if a bit reinforcing of the shifty fox narrative," Al chuckled.

"Well, I should probably go track him down. Thanks for bringing us here, guys!" Judy loped out of the room in search of her partner.

"They growin' on ya yet?" Al nudged his partner.

"I- ju-... I'm a cheetah and I couldn't make it around that corner that fast for Christ's sake!" Al gave the cheetah a pat on the shoulder.

"Son, I thought you knew this by now: in a city like this you'll meet all kinds of mammals doing the impossible. Thankfully some of them, like Nick and Judy, are on our side."

"Yeah, I guess so. They are growing on me. I mean, everyone's gotta love Judy, and you can't argue with Nick's results. He's sorta like if Silas used his powers of wit for evil." They both laughed at the image as they began rummaging through drawers and papers, deciding what was worth packing with them. After a few minutes Al looked up.

"Shit, we forgot to tell the rookies to pack clothes and a toothbrush. They probably think they're gonna be goin' home every night."

"Think of it as a learning experience for them. And we'll get to see if they're detective material," Allen replied.

"You just wanna see Nick suffer. Can't blame you entirely though. You gotta twist the screws on someone like that every once and while, especially when they care about their appearance as much as he does." The two shared a grin and went back to their work.

Outside the citizens of Zootopia continued to go about their days, completely unaware of the frantic preparations across the city. The leviathan of government was coiling, readying itself to spring with unmatchable fury upon the newest target assigned by the civilians who oversaw the professionals. It would land with overwhelming force, like an elephant stomping on an ant. That is, if they could hit it.

* * *

 **Author's note: Well this one took a little longer than expected. Something just wasn't working out the first few times I tried writing the scene after Silas' briefing V2.0 (yes, I realize I really need to find another way to move the plot forward without having Silas talk at everyone for a page). Not gonna lie, I think this is definitely one of my weaker chapters. But, my options are 1) spend weeks stewing on it, or 2) post it now and keep writing new chapters. I certainly think #2 is a better option**

 **Oh, and if you haven't already, check out the short story I wrote instead of finishing this chapter sooner,** _ **Just Dance With Me.**_ **It's a fluffy little AU where Judy meets Nick in a club.**


	8. In the Trenches

"You're making a big mistake, kid," Nick said. The young horse looming over him took another swing at the fox. Nick dodged it lazily. "You don't happen to have a tranq gun on you, do ya, Carrots?"

Judy stood a few paces behind him, staring defiantly at the two other cronies who were currently just standing there as their leader made more failed attempts to clobber Nick. She shook her head.

"Can't say I do, sorry."

"Well then, I guess we're just gonna have to do this the old-fashioned way." The horse jabbed at Nick's head again. He easily sidestepped it. As he did, he grabbed the horse's wrist and gave it a sharp tug. The much larger mammal, already off-balance from having to lean down to reach the fox, stumbled forwards. Nick scampered up his arm in a flash, swung over his shoulder, and pushed off the back of the horse's neck to leap towards the next one. The colt hit the floor of the alleyway muzzle first.

Nick landed on the shoulder of the second horse and began furiously clambering around his back to avoid the giant hooves attempting to bat him off.

 _If one of those hits me it'll probably turn my ribs into pulp._

 _Oh God imagine if one hit Judy._

 _Let's not._

 _Alright, now here's a thinker: how does a fox incapacitate a horse without resorting to ripping out their jugular?_

 _Maybe I could do one of those Judy-fu super kicks off the wall?_

 _There's no way that could work, she only pulled that off with the rhino 'cuz she could bungee off the ropes in the ring._

Just then he peaked up over the horse's shoulder to see Judy colliding foot first into the third horse's head. He staggered into the brick wall and collapsed onto the first colt just as he was getting up.

 _Well I'll be damned. But there's no way that's going to put them both out of the fight._

He dodged another swipe by sliding down the horse's jacket and using it to swing himself down behind him. Even as the horse began to instinctively kick behind him, Nick slammed into the horse's other, locked knee. Nick barely got out from under him before he toppled to the ground. Seeing the other two horses struggling to their feet again, he looked over to Judy.

"You wanna make the call, or should I?"

"I'll do it, just try not to kill them while I'm at it."

"Ugh, fine. But if things turn ugly I'm not holding back."

Nick raced towards the first horse, who had finally gotten up and was swaying a little uneasily. He attempted to lunge at Nick, but found the point he had been moving toward empty long before he got there. Instead, the fox was directly underneath him. Nick planted a fist firmly between the legs of the equine, feeling just a little bit of pity as he did so. He spun and dropped his shoulder, knocking the horse's leg out from under him. The dull thud of the large body dropping flat on its back added to the pained whinnies of the other horse on the ground and Judy's shouting into her phone.

The only horse left standing warily backed up a few paces as Judy ended the call the call and slipped her phone back into her pocket. She looked disapprovingly at the horse clutching the second leg Nick had broken in a week while she walked up to stand beside him, assuming her typical cocked-hip pose. The horse took a few more steps before turning and sprinting around the corner. Nick looked over to Judy, already panting eagerly.

"Can I get 'im?" She locked eyes with him.

"Race you."

They took off down the alleyway. Judy let Nick take the lead, counting on his sense of smell to immediately lead them in the proper direction until they regained eye contact. They went right upon reaching the street and saw the horse dodging around cars stopped at a red light at a nearby intersection. After a few long strides Nick dropped onto all fours and put on a burst of speed in the straightaway. Judy was no longer _letting_ him have the lead. She shook her head and followed suit, hopping along cars while he streaked around them.

The horse twisted to the side and awkwardly slid over the hood of a car whose driver had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting him. Nick leapt onto the roof as Judy ran around the back. Nick locked eyes with the horse as he looked up in fear at the fox growling at him on all fours. This gave Judy all the opening she needed to give him another hard smack to the side of the head. He stumbled off, catching his balance on a lightpost.

 _I guess horses are smaller than rhinos. And she's been training for like, a year, since then._

 _Still doesn't seem possible._

 _That's Judy for ya._

The horse wheeled around, having dug a balisong out of his pocket. Somehow, his hooved hand spun the knife in deft flourish, leaving the single-edged blade pointed towards the two ZPD officers. Nick remembered that he was standing on an innocent civilian's car. He jumped off it to allow the concerned motorist to speed away, which put him much closer to the wild-eyed ungulate than Judy. His ears picked up the sound of tires screeching, at least one car nearby, but he was much more focused on the shiny blade bobbing back and forth only feet away from him.

"Come on buddy, you know what they say about a knife fight, right? 'The loser dies in the street, and the winner dies in the ambulance.'"

"Good thing you don't have one then."

"You think I need a fuckin' knife, grazer?" Nick spat and sneered at the mammal across from him, baring his teeth. His hackles were raised, and he was standing back on two feet with his arms held up from his sides, almost like a gunslinger—minus the revolvers. He felt more than exactly saw or heard Judy's small intake of breath at the speciesist insult. His senses, especially sight and sound, were all keened at the horse in front of him, to the point that he barely saw anything else. Rather, he heard the horse's heart pounding, the slight rustling of his clothes as he shifted uncomfortably, his ragged breathing. He saw small twitches of his eyes and ears, the coiling that suggested imminent movement, and the relaxation as he decided to stay put rather than lunging just yet. He might have vaguely heard rapidly approaching footsteps too.

"Hey horse, you just gonna forget about me over here? Need I remind you I'm the one who put you on your ass in the first place?"

"Huh?" The horse looked over to Judy, dropping his guard and twisting himself out of the relatively good stance he had been in.

 _Rookie mistake,_ Nick thought. Just as he was about to lunge, a black blur beat him to it. Nick recognized the form of Maggie now pinning the horse on the ground.

"Don't even think about it, scumbag!" She yelled, digging her claws into his wrist as he attempted to raise the balisong. A cry of pain later the knife clattered onto the sidewalk, where it was kicked away by a padded yellow foot that could only belong to Allen Fastpaw. Maggie looked up.

"I've got this one, you three go back and cuff the other two before they disappear."

The three officers nodded and dashed back towards the alley.

* * *

After dropping the three horses off at Precinct 8, Maggie and Allen had met Nick and Judy back at the safehouse. It was a wide, nondescript cinder block building set just off a major thoroughfare that had once been a lumber yard, closed during the last slump in local business. The coinciding crime spike had provided the funding for Precinct 8 to purchase the building for their expanding operations. It was well camouflaged among a dozen other such buildings that reminded the few passersby of the industrial roots of this neighborhood. Inside, half the floor space contained open work tables and cubicles with managers' offices in a ring with an attached catwalk on the floor above. The other half of the building was a full two floors of rooms that were largely used for storage or empty, although a surveillance suite and break room had been set up.

Silas released the catwalk railing from his hooves and turned back to face the four detectives again. He stood drawn up to his full height, and though slim, he stood a full head taller than Allen and Maggie, and much more so than Nick and Judy. He looked down at them sternly.

"So, let's get this straight: you two realized you were being followed by a group of three horses, and in your infinite wisdom you decided that instead of trying to lose them or calling for backup, you should draw them into a narrow sidestreet. Since you had neglected to carry cuffs, dart guns, or any other weapons, you were forced to engage them paw-to-paw when you couldn't talk them down. Luckily, neither of you were hurt and you were able to somewhat easily subdue them. You were, at least, smart enough to call for backup once the fight started, and with Maggie and Allen's help you were able to pick them up and get out of there safely. Anything I missed?" Silas could give a remarkably Bogo-like dressing down when he wanted. Judy stifled her urge to cringe while Nick remained impassive, ears pointed easily back, trademark casual smirk on his muzzle. She was, however, unable to keep her ears from falling.

"That about sums it up, Silas. I'll admit, it was not my brightest idea," she muttered. For the umpteenth time she envied Nick's ability to hide behind that mask of his. Then she waited for the inevitable wisecrack that would only get them in more trouble.

"See? Not my fault this time! I'm in the clear!" Nick gave a little victory fist-pump.

 _There we go,_ Judy thought.

"And would you care to explain why you didn't steer your partner away from this risky plan of action? Or why you didn't make sure you and your partner were prepared for any sort of encounter with hostile actors? What if they had all showed up with crowbars, or guns?" Nick didn't wilt like Judy did, but his smirk did disappear faster than he thought it could.

"Well, you got me there?" Nick offered. His strained smile held in the face of Silas' glare. Silas sighed and rubbed the bridge of his snout.

"Great. I've stumped the elusive Nicholas Wilde. Whoop-de-doo. Obviously, they were targeting either any ZPD personnel they could find or you two specifically. Either way, you're out of the field for now, at least for operations out in the open. We don't know if they were planning to kill you and failed, or just wanted to rough you up and scare you. The fact that that one horse only drew his knife later suggests it was the latter, but we can't be sure. So, at least for the rest of the day you're working with Maggie and Allen here. Call me if you find anything, but take a break first." He turned and walked away towards the staircase back down to the ground floor. Judy attempted to call after him, but he made a show of sticking his fingers in his ears and continuing to walk away.

"Well, that's just great. We're grounded," Judy huffed. Her foot began to tap with frustration as she crossed her arms.

"Poor you, having to live like the rest of us," Allen chided her as he and Maggie went to follow Silas.

"Alright, Carrots, let's hit the break room then find those two." Nick gave her a soft _whack_ with his tail and started to stroll off in the same direction as the other departed mammals. Judy was about to follow when her phone began to ring.

 _Oh shit, I totally forgot!_

Nick perked, stopped, and craned his head around to look at her. She pulled out her phone, finding the icon for her parents' contact and an incoming MuzzleTime call. She sighed as Nick started walking back towards her, forced her ears to perk up and her muzzle to curve into a smile, and hit the answer call button. She held out a paw at Nick in a _not-now-I-swear-to-God-fox_ gesture.

"Judy! Where have you been, Honey Bun?" Bonny Hopps' face filled most of the screen, but she soon pulled back so that her husband, Stu, could also be seen. They were both smiling, but Judy knew that the look in her mother's eyes meant she had a lot of explaining to do.

"Well, I've just been _really_ busy with all my _police work_ , like all the stuff I have to do right nowsoletskeepthisquick!" She realized she was already sounding frustrated behind her cheery tone. This was not going to go well.

"But honey, it's the weekend. How could you have work now?" Judy facepawed.

"I've told you guys so many times, we're on a four days on, two off schedule. Besides, we're all working overtime right now since there's a lot going on."

"You can say that again, getting involved in a gunfight and some sort of raid and not telling your parents at all! We had to learn this stuff from the news, Judy!"

"Your mother's right, Jude. We should be hearing this stuff from you." Stu did his best to sound stern, but the soft-featured farmer didn't really have it in him.

"Look, I've been really busy you guys. We've had lots to do with the investigation since the shootout, and there's just been no time for me to think about anything else." She forced her foot, which had started tapping again, to still.

"Well surely you're still going home and sleeping at night? Couldn't you talk to us then?"

"Not doing much sleeping," Nick said quietly. Judy kicked at him, but he was standing just out of reach. He stuck out his tongue at her.

"I've just been… busy. I was… uh… working with my partner! Yeah, that's what it was!" Nick was snickering now, and his tail was now raised well off the ground and idly swaying back and forth.

"Oh, about your partner, Judy. They said he _killed_ someone at the warehouse, and he mauled two _wolves_ and a _pig_ nearly to death the next day-"

"What your mother's trying to say, Judy, is that we're not so sure it's safe to be working with that fox."

 _Leave it to Dad to only find it in him to interrupt Mom when it comes to hating foxes._

"His name is Nick, Dad. You know that. You too, Mom." Judy gave them her best stern face. The phone turned towards her mother again.

"Look, Sweetie, we know you've said he's a really nice guy and that he helped you with the Missing Mammals Case, but honestly, how can you know that he's safe? Look at what he's done!" Judy was starting to get mad.

"I mean, how well do you even know him, anyways? He's only been your partner for a few weeks."

"Mom! I've told you guys I hung out with Nick all the time before he went to the academy and whenever he got a free weekend while he was there. He's probably spent a half-dozen nights at my apartment from when we stayed up too late watching movies and hanging out!"

"You brought him back to your apartment!" Bonny exclaimed. Stu grabbed the phone.

"You let him sleep in your home with you!" Judy's father looked like he was about to have a seizure. "Judy that is not how we raised you!" His tone dropped, but slowly worked its way back to an even greater frenzy.

"Look, we understand that you're more open-minded than we're ever going to be, and that you have to be somewhat when you go to Zootopia, but bringing a predator, let alone a fox, back to your apartment to spend the night? What were you thinking?" Just then Judy felt something very soft and fuzzy curling around her legs. She forced herself to keep looking at the camera and keep her ears held high while she flailed wildly with her arm, hoping to push Nick away. At least she didn't have any trouble keeping her angry face on. She felt Nick catch her arm and begin moving closer.

 _No no no no no no No No No No No No No NO NO NO NO NO NO NO_

"And to think, after all the leeway we gave you-" Stu and Bonny Hopps both froze, wide-eyed as Nick's head slid into view. He had a devilish, extra toothy grin on his muzzle.

"Hey, Carrots, whatcha doin'? Oh, are these those parents you're always going on about? Mr. and Mrs. Hopps, Nick Wilde. A pleasure, I'm sure." He widened his smile, showing every single one of his _very sharp teeth._ The thought made Judy quiver a little, adding to Nick's smirk as her parents visibly recoiled from the screen. Nick lowered himself until his head rested cheek-to-cheek on Judy's shoulder and gave a more good natured smile. "So, what were you all talking about?" Judy attempted to elbow him off-camera, but found her arm still trapped by one of his paws.

"Uh… we were… uh," Stu mumbled, trailing off and rubbing the back of his neck. Bonny raised a finger and opened her mouth to speak, then gave up.

 _I hate how much he's enjoying this. Time to end his fun, I hope._

"Well, Nick, before you so _rudely_ interrupted, my parents were asking me if I had hit my heat cycle yet. It's a big thing for us bunnies." Nick at least had the decency to act shocked and a little uncomfortable. Her father looked mortified, but Bonny recovered pretty quickly, shooting Judy a little 'thank you' look.

 _If only she knew how much worse it was._

"Oh, ha ha, well excuse me for interrupting then, I'll leave you to bunny talk. Nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Hopps!" Nick waved and walked a few steps away before doubling over with barely suppressed laughter.

"Alright, Dad, Mom, any more questions or speciesist remarks? Otherwise, I've gotta go."

"I think that'll be all for now, Bun. Just remember, we love you and we have your best interests at heart."

"Love you too, guys. Bye." Judy hung up the call, walked over, and firmly kicked Nick in the ass. He half caught his fall and broke into full-on cackling while lying on the ground.

"Oh my God, Judy, you should have seen your parents' faces! And yours once you felt my tail. Priceless." He continued laughing.

"You're insufferable." Judy plopped down on Nick's still shaking side and began unemphatically kicking him in the stomach. After a few moments he caught her feet in his paws.

"Alright, alright, I won't do that again. Unless I think it will that funny again. Oh! Can I just drop in on the next Hopps family call and tell your parents that I'm fucking their daughter? Or can you ask a question addressed to 'daddy' and your dad and I can both respond?"

"I- What? No! You're- you're not into that stuff, are you?" Judy stood up, expecting Nick to pop up next to her. When he didn't she looked down to find him giving her his best puppy eyes and weakly holding a paw up for help. She rolled her eyes and grabbed his paw.

"Only if you are, Sweetheart," Nick replied while he was helped to his feet. They both began walking to the break room in silence. When they reached the bottom of the staircase Judy tilted her head up to face him.

"Well, Daddy, why don't you pick up a coffee for me while I find Maggie and Allen?" Nick merely quirked an eyebrow in response. "What? If we're gonna do it to mess with my parents then it's gotta feel natural, so we need to practice."

"Keep tellin' yourself that, Fluff." Nick shook his head and wandered off in the direction of the strongest coffee smell he could find.

* * *

Nick stood before two doors, two large coffee cups in hand.

 _Hm. Left, or right?_

He had been counting on being able to pick out Judy's scent to find his way to wherever she was working with Allen and Maggie, but he found that with all the other animals in the building, two coffees in hand, and the still omnipresent smell of sawdust, he couldn't decide which of the two rooms she was in.

 _Let's see, what do cheetahs smell like again? Well, kind of like Clawhauser, but with less sugar, right?_

He took a few more sniffs from each door.

 _Aaaaaaaaaand I've got nothing. He was somewhere around here recently, but that's it. Shit. Ok, panthers, what do they smell like? Manchas, I guess._

A few more deep breaths and he drew another blank. He was about to put his coffee down and open the left door when the right one swung open. Judy's head popped out at about the same height as the handle.

"Nick, there you are! We were wondering what was taking so long. I was just going to look for you."

"I see my timing is impeccable as usual, then." He sauntered into the room.

"Yeah, sure," she said as Nick proffered her coffee to her. She grabbed it and set it down carefully on the table Allen and Maggie were standing over before hopping back onto it. Even standing on the table she only came up to their shoulders. Nick walked over and examined the photographs and files spread across what appeared to be four tables pushed together to form one surface.

"Is this everything we've got?" The mess was roughly divided into several piles that seemed to be photographs and reports about horses or known Ney affiliates seen in a given location. Nick picked up a photograph and idly examined it. It depicted a horse in a sweater and khakis walking out of an upscale apartment building. It was labeled _"last known sighting of Angstrom Ney, Thursday 3/21."_ It was now Sunday the 24th.

"Yep. Not a whole lot to go off of," Allen remarked without looking up from the file he was studying. Nick began leafing through the other files before him as a comfortable silence settled in the room, broken only by the rustling of papers. There were dozens of screenshots pulled from traffic cameras near the apartment building throughout the last month, as well as a few high-quality photos that appeared to be taken by a surveillance team with telephoto lenses. Angstrom and his brother Archibald could both be seen coming and going frequently, as well as several other higher-ups in the Ney's organization and a recurring cast of grunts.

"So the last time Angstrom was seen was when he left this apartment, which it would appear he and Archibald live in, on Thursday morning AKA when they would have heard that we took out Big Pete. When was the last time we saw Archibald?" Nick asked.

"He was last seen Thursday afternoon going into a club that they seem to hang out at pretty often. There's also cars coming and going from there all the time, and loading dock, so a good place for them to ditch surveillance," Judy said, looking up from the photographs she was examining.

"We also haven't seen any of the other higher-ups since Thursday evening, so they're either in a war room planning or they've gone to ground," Maggie added.

"Hey, why don't we have a cork board with photos thumb tacked up and strings and red marker and shit? Or all the members of the Ney family laid out like a deck of cards with the kingpin on top? Isn't that how you solve and big case or conspiracy?" Nick asked.

"Har har, Nick. We do have an empty cork board over there if you want to start." Allen jerked a thumb towards the corner of the room.

"Ah man that seems like a lot of work though. I'm just the guy who walks in with no knowledge and solves the whole case by switching two photos around and monologuing for a few minutes."

"Great. Would you like a recliner and a beer while we do all the legwork then?" Allen flashed a smirk.

"If you're offering."

 _7:03pm_

They had all been working, besides a quick break for lunch, for about eight hours in the same room. Nick had sifted through almost all the files and photos they had, and had actually begun pinning up photos on the corkboard to analyze movement patterns between the different tracked locations. Judy had been digging through traffic camera footage, painstakingly tracking almost every vehicle that left the club since Thursday morning. Maggie had been digging through records for all the different buildings of interest, especially businesses, and tracking shipments to and from the different locations. Allen had been searching actual crime records for known Ney affiliates, looking to see if they could identify any other haunts the brothers might be hiding out in, or if they could reliably say there were felons at one of the locations.

"So, you guys getting anywhere?" Nick asked.

"Well, I've found three vehicles that left the club on Thursday that went to some of the observed locations. Two went to the auto wrecking yard they own, and one to the import house on the west side of town."

"The import house seems pretty legit so far. They ship food from there to the club and a few local restaurants pretty regularly. Then again, that's also good cover," Maggie said.

"Four of the seven goons photographed at the wrecking yard have been booked for violent crimes before," Allen added.

"Interesting. There seems to be a lot coming and going there that's been photographed, but they almost never see any of the big players. Maybe that's where they go when they want to be incognito?" Nick said.

"They've definitely got some experienced thugs watching the place," Allen said.

"And both the vehicles that went there from the club, conveniently after each of the Ney brothers had arrived, could have been carrying people in the back out of sight." Judy walked over to the printer where she grabbed print outs of a few screenshots of the two vehicles. One was a large blue van and the other was a generic white box truck.

"Wait a minute, is that van the same as the one they think was used to drop off that badger? That's gotta be some kind of probable cause right? Enough to get Silas to authorize surveillance on the wrecking yard?" Nick asked. Allen dug through a few piles before pulling out a file with a little "ah-ha."

"Let's see… blue Furd E-450, license-plate TF0142X, dented rear fender, scratched hub caps, tinted windows. Yep, fits the bill. Plates don't match, but those can be switched easily."

"Okay, Carrots, do that thing where you recite the entire police handbook. Are we good to go to Silas for surveillance on this place?"

"I think so, yeah. Let's go see him."

 _8:52pm_

A half moon hung low in the sky above the Meadowlands. It was easily visible over the low roofs and rare trees of the lightly populated district. The quiet streets hummed with the buzz of transformers and electric lights. The few mammals still out and about pulled their jackets a little tighter and kept walking, eager to be off the streets. Even in the best parts of the Meadowlands it wasn't a good idea to be walking alone at night, especially if there was a reason the Neys might dislike you.

"Mark." Nick looked up from his watch as Judy threw the car into reverse and flicked on the lights. They backed out of their space and left the parking lot. Two cars full of personnel from Precinct 8 had already left at random intervals over the last half hour. About ten minutes later Al and Silas would be leaving to take up the last surveillance position on the street. Six more mammals from the task force were working their way up to the rooftops overlooking Auto Andy's Wrecking and Scrap to photograph anything of interest. Maggie, Allen, Ellie Oates and two other Precinct 8 mammals would be manning the communications van a half mile back from the surveillance cordon. Silas had been sure that this time everyone was well armed and equipped.

"So, you ready for your first official stakeout as a cop, Slick?" Judy asked, keeping her eyes on the road as she drove calmly to their assigned position.

"I just hope something happens so we don't have to sit in a car for twelve hours straight." The cupholder in the console between them held two enormous coffee thermoses that Nick had found in a cupboard, and there was a generous bag of snacks directly behind it in front of the back seat. Also in the back seat were two shotguns and a rifle, Nick and Judy's preferred submachine guns not being available. Each carried a tranq pistol on their person in light of the morning's events.

"There're worse things than taking it easy for a while. Think of it as bonding time," Judy said. She glanced over at Nick only to catch the fox mid exasperated sigh.

"Says the most hyperactive person I know."

"Alright, fine, it's gonna suck. I had to do one with Wolford while you were in the academy. That's the only reason why I had any idea what to do with you our first time." Suddenly Nick looked very intrigued: his ears perked straight up and rotated forward as he turned to stare at Judy intently. She chuckled at little at his reaction.

"Aww, you were pining for me all the way back then?"

"Believe me, I didn't want to learn, but Wolford just wouldn't stop talking about the wonders of canid love. Anything's gotta be better than that, though, right?" Nick grimaced briefly.

"Yeah, probably. Guess I still gotta thank Ol' Wolfy for that one, though." Judy fixed him with a glare.

"Don't you dare." After a moment of silence they both burst out laughing.

* * *

"How much longer are we gonna stay here, Arch?" Archibald Ney looked up the laptop on his desk to find his brother leaning in the doorway of the cramped office. The hideout definitely lacked the grandeur of most of their properties.

"Just a few days. The next shipment will come in tomorrow, and it's much bigger than the last. Then we just dump the guns at bargain prices, still cut a profit, and skip town for a while. The ZPD will have their hands full with the mess that'll cause, and we can just slip back after things cool down and the case ends up in some archive. We can let them pick up the grunts involved, easy open and shut case. They'd like that."

"I don't know how much longer we can keep avoiding their surveillance though."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't leave so often."

"I've got to to make the last few arrangements. We can't exactly _call_ them, the ZPD'd be here in an hour."

"Alright, just stay safe. When do you leave next?" Angstrom lifted his arm to check his watch.

"In about three hours."

* * *

 **Author's note: I'm pretty happy with this chapter. The whole detective work part is a little skimpy, but that's almost unavoidable with the lack of planning I had going into this whole story. Note to self: a detailed outline is kind of necessary if you're not writing pure fluff/smut since there's no opportunity to go back and retcon/revise stuff.**

 **Next chapter will inevitably be influenced by** _ **The Late Stake**_ **by TGWeaver, so hopefully you'll like that. That's also the smutty chapter I've mentioned (which makes sense if you've read** _ **The Late Stake**_ **) in some comments. I'm still not exactly sure how that's going to play out, since on one hand I want to try (and all of you seem to want me to try) writing some full-on smut, but on the other hand I feel a lot of trepidation about it and partially feel like it just doesn't fit in this story.**

 **I like being able to make sex jokes and imply the actual sex, and planned on that from the beginning, but I feel like if you want to have an actual plot and smut you need to plan on that from the beginning and dive right into it (I would take kulkum's work as a good example of this). Since I didn't do that, it seems kind of awkward to put it in now, but as I mentioned before I kind of want to, and it feels like I'm already halfway there after last chapter.**

 **So, we'll see how I end up writing the next chapter, and I'll remind myself to not feel too self-conscious about however it turns out since this is my first fic and I have to finish it somehow. Any feedback is appreciated here, too. /rant**

 **P.S. Didn't just wanna end on that note. I did have a lot of fun with my own little take on the classic awkward times with Judy's parents scene.**

 **P.P.S. Does it make it less explicit if I know I won't be able to take myself seriously and 80% of what I write will just be a setup for a joke or be a visual gag in and of itself (like the chapter 7 scene)?**


	9. Stakeout

**Warning: This chapter is pretty much one big, juicy lemon. For those of you that wanted that, I think you'll enjoy this thoroughly. If you're not into that kind of thing, the plot moves about** _ **this**_ **much *squeezes thumb and forefinger close together* this chapter, so feel free to wait for the next one. Or give it a shot and join me in the inescapable, degenerate hellhole that my life is rapidly becoming. It's fun tho.**

* * *

"So what you're saying is you shouldn't have to keep watch because your eyesight isn't good enough, therefore I have to constantly be on watch? That's hardly fair." Nick tossed a few of the cheese puffs he had been idly munching into the air, opening his jaws wide to catch them. One advantage to being the smallest mammals in the ZPD was that almost every car issued to them was incredibly roomy.

"I'm just saying that I might miss something, so it would be prudent if you were looking too."

"You're not blind, Fluffball. If you see something moving and can't make it out, just tell me, and I'll use my foxy superpowers to figure out what's going on. Besides, we're looking for something like a car or truck leaving. Even if you can't see it you should hear it." He batted one of her ears before scanning the street again just to be sure. He smiled a little, almost imperceptibly. He still got that giddy, tingly feeling every time he touched her. After a slow turn of his head, he focused back on a spot ahead of them.

Judy kept her ears up, willing the slight flush to die down before he looked back. She relaxed as she reminded herself that there was nothing wrong with enjoying her fox's touch.

"Nick, I think you just overestimate everyone else's night vision because you're used to it. Us prey, and even most preds, can't see anywhere near as much as you." She looked up from her phone, the blue glow illuminating her face from below. "What're you looking at?"

"There's a Pawpsi can like a block and a half up the street that just fell over. I'm trying to see if there's anything else up there. And believe me, I built a career on knowing exactly how well I matched up with other mammals." He leaned forwards a little, straining to make out any extra details, or see around corners into nooks and crannies. Judy watched as his normally large pupils dilated into predatory slits.

"You are unbelievable."

* * *

"Alright, that one over there." Judy's paw pointed towards a car half a block to their left, parked along the edge of the wrecking yard.

"Hmm… ZMC Orbit, dark green sedan, maybe… 2009 model. Large mammal size. Good condition." Nick settled back in his chair, taking a sip of coffee.

"I'm gonna say it belongs to one Milo Sotomayor, pronghorn, twenty-seven. Lives in one of the apartments on the block behind us. Probably west side since he's parked closer to that direction and there're plenty of open spaces. He's a graphic designer working for a local start-up, pays well enough but he likes to save his money, ergo used car, but a pretty decent one and in good shape. Sound about right?" Judy folded her arms over her chest with a prideful grin spreading on her face.

"Pretty good, Carrots, but you missed one thing."

"What's that, Slick?" One of her eyebrows rose as she swiveled her head to look at the fox.

 _Odds I actually missed something? Like 30%. That leaves 70% chance he's just fucking with me._

Nick's muzzle spread into a wolfish grin of triumph.

"The Orbit is a boat. Average buyer is an unusually overweight pig a few years from retirement. I'd put money on it belonging to mammal over 50." Judy mulled that over for a moment before her brain dragged a useless tidbit back from the depths.

"Wait just a minute Mr. Sneaky Fox, that's a load of bull! I remember I saw a piece in the _Times_ that said young people were increasingly buying cars like the Orbit because they're a lot more reliable than fleet sedans and coupes, isn't that right!" She had climbed over in her seat and halfway up the divider between them, her extended index finger now a mere inch from Nick's muzzle and pointed accusingly at him. He relaxed into his typical smirk.

"Very good, Fluff. What's that, four for seven now? I'm impressed." Judy settled back into her seat, very pleased with herself.

* * *

"Carrots, I'm bored." Nick slumped forward, resting his muzzle on the dashboard. "We've already done every car in sight and we've only been here for like an hour!"

"Well, have you seen any good movies recently?"

"Ugh. Could you have thought of a more boring question?"

"Well, have you?" Nick somehow slumped even further down.

"Not really?" His left eye popped open. "I saw the last Jack Savage movie, but that was like four months ago. I've been pretty busy between the academy, starting on the force, and a certain some _bunny_." That brought a chuckle from them both. "The Jack Savage movie wasn't as good as the last few. The plot was all over the place, and I think that rabbit's getting old, 'cuz I swear there're even more jump cuts than there used to be in the fight scenes. How about you?" He slid back into a seated position, weight rested on the central console, head cocked over to look at her.

"You know, I actually haven't seen many new movies either. I saw that one, and I guess the Fantastic Fur, but that was pretty awful." She shimmied a little closer to Nick while she looked up at the green glint of his eyes.

"You didn't guess that from the fact that they called the movie Fant4stic? Some detective you'll make, Hopps." Nick ducked a small hail of peanuts. "So, whaddaya think of that bunny who plays Jack Savage?"

"What, like is he attractive?" A small nod signalled for her to continue. "I mean, I guess he's handsome." Judy's eyebrows raised in a playful expression. "But it turns out he's not really my type." This time it was Nick who leaned over across the divider.

"Oh really, what happens to be your type, Officer?" His hot breath washed over Judy as she leaned in to meet him.

"Silly me, I can't remember. He was some kind of mammal with a big, bushy tail, russet fur, and big, _sharp,_ _ **fangs."**_ She concluded by reaching up and into Nick's mouth, grabbing hold of his top canines. His face was a sight to behold as he attempted to maintain his smoldering gaze while Judy's paws deformed his lips

 _He's somewhere between the most adorable thing I've seen since Finnick was pretending to be his son_ _and_ _scary predator with fangs almost as big as my paws._

"Ish zat sho?" His tongue poked out, teasing her paws.

"And he was a really good kisser." Her paws slowly fell as their lips came together. A strange calm came over Nick as they remained simply locked together, neither making any further movements. Judy found herself dismayed that instead of quenching the fire in her belly, the kiss only caused it to burn brighter. After a long moment they slowly drifted apart.

"Wow. That was… different. Nice," Nick said. He tilted his head to the side as he puzzled over his feelings for a moment, but that quickly drifted to the back of his mind as his nose picked up the rapidly increasing scent of aroused bunny. Judy saw his nostrils flare as he took a deep breath and broke the silence.

"Sorry. I was kinda hoping that was gonna have the opposite effect." She only half-consciously reached up with one paw to smooth her ears down the back of her head. They felt hot as they pressed against her fur.

"Yeah, we should probably avoid that kind of thing while we're on duty. I don't think Silas would approve of us fucking while on surveillance, let alone the Precinct 8 mammals when they get their car back."

"You are a messy one. And a scratchy, clawy one," she said, playfully tossing another peanut at him, which he deftly caught in his mouth.

"And proud of it!" he replied.

* * *

"Judy, I'm horny." This time Nick was slouched down with his seat leaned back until it almost touched the cushions of the rear bench.

"Well suck it up Mr. I Suddenly Respect Authority Figures." Judy was currently trying to count how many sidewalk concrete sections she could see in each direction before she couldn't make out the delineations anymore or her mind wandered onto _other_ subjects. So far the furthest she had gotten was seven. She shifted her legs for the umpteenth time, shook her head, and set to counting again.

"Says Ms. I Live By The ZPD Officer's Handbook."

"At least I'm not constantly one bad joke away from getting myself fired."

"Yeah because you're too busy being swept off your feet by my foxy charm. Which is why you are and have been filling this car with "fuck me" scent, which brings us back to our original problem. What exactly are you thinking about while you stare out there?" Judy turned away and the scent spiked. Nick smirked. Judy had a wonderful smell no matter what her condition was, and doubly so when she was aroused. It also had a very predictable effect on him: a warm, glowy feeling, often accompanied by a stirring in his pants.

"None of your business." She still had her back to him.

"When I can't ignore it, it becomes a matter of my concern," he replied easily, bringing his right leg up and shifting to face Judy more, displaying the growing bulge between his legs.

"I think we both know you know what I'm thinking about," she said, turning her head back to face him.

"Could you spell it out for a poor, dumb fox?" Nick clasped his paws together next to his muzzle in a pleading gesture, giving her _the sad eyes._

"Alright, I was thinking about jumping on you, ripping your clothes off, and…" Her gaze, which had been calmly roving over him and the cabin, paused on the unmistakable. She smirked. "And fucking your big fox dick for a while. But obviously we can't do that while we're supposed to be watching the target."

"Sadly, you're right. Still think this is better than Wolford?"

"Oh, definitely. That was a whole 'nother level of uncomfortable. And in a much less fun way. Just be ready to find a gas station with a bathroom on the way back."

"I'll have you know I have higher standards than that, thank you very much," he huffed. "Also, there's a Cheepotle a few blocks from the safe house. They always have decent bathrooms."

* * *

"Okay, fuck it, that's it!" Judy announced. Nick had been zoning out, staring at the main entrance to the wrecking yard. Now his head snapped to face his partner, who was in the process of unbuttoning her pants.

"What exactly are you doing, Fluffball?" He quirked his head, his eyes locked on the slowly revealed space between her legs and ever strengthening scent.

"I'm gonna get it over with and rub one out now," she replied nonchalantly, wiggling her pants and panties down over her hips.

"Well then I guess you won't mind if I join you." Nick hastily unbuckled his belt and followed suit with his pants and underwear, grateful for the tinted windows. The cabin of the car filled with the sound of rustling as paws rubbed fur and paw pads stroked flesh.

Nick had a smell, a foxy musk with a hint of violets that he often covered up with cologne. It didn't change much since foxes panted rather than sweated, but when it did, it was _strong._ In the enclosed space, it assaulted her in waves. She wondered if this was what it always felt like for him when he was close to another mammal. The musk was ten times stronger than usual, but mixed with it were other smells she couldn't quite decipher. Vaguely pleasant, masculine smells that made her think of muscles, and strength, and _teeth ripping flesh consuming raw meat drinking blood killing prey_. Somewhere in the back of her mind instinct screamed that this was the last place she should be, but Judy had long stopped listening to that part of her mind when she was around Nick.

Judy also had a smell, although not as strong as Nick's. A little bit of earth, a little bit of Bunnyburrow meadows, and a little bit of pure Judy determination. But when she got turned-on? Oh boy, that was something else. Maybe it was because his primordial ancestors liked to sneak up on bunnies rutting in the undergrass. Maybe it was just because he was a little off. But when that bunny was horny, Nick knew. And he loved it. It was like breathing in honey without the unpleasant side effects of filling his nostrils with liquid, like diving into a pool of sex and happiness, like that one time years ago when he had tried cocaine at a party . Trapped in the car, his head spun from the strength of her pure bliss, and his snout wrinkled as he voraciously sucked the air in through his nose.

Judy caught herself as she realized she had been staring at Nick's paw moving slowly up and down his length for quite some time. She looked up, the heat between her legs growing more intense when saw that Nick was doing the same with her paw as it rubbed across her labia. Seeming to feel her gaze, he flicked his eyes up to look at her.

"We gotta keep our eyes on the road though, professionalism and whatnot," she said, turning her head back to look out the window.

"Oh, yeah, right, of course, for sure, without a doubt, professional." His head nodded exaggeratedly as he willed himself to stare out the windshield and scan their surroundings again. But he couldn't keep from looking over when he heard her finger slide in, and the small hitch of breath that followed. He forced himself to look outside again, trying to split his mind between observing their surroundings and focusing on the familiar feeling of his paw on his dick. He let out a long, deep breath as he began increasing the pace of his strokes, his heart rate quickening in response. Hearing a low moan from Judy, he was unable to resist looking over again.

Judy's focus had broken much sooner than Nick's. She watched as he attempted to surreptitiously glance at her, growing a little more excited each time she caught her dumb fox. She began to move her paw in synch with his, imagining, wishing it could be his. Or something else of his. With each passing glance and moment, the heat between her legs grew hotter, the _need_ more urgent. She bit her lip to stifle another moan and increased her pace. She chanced a look up and found his green eyes glowing in the dark, a wicked grin on his muzzle.

"You know, I think this could go a lot faster if we helped each other. Just, ya know, to get it out of the way so we can focus."

"Oh is that right? Why don't you come help your fellow officer then?"

"Sly bunny."

"Sexy fox." Nick kicked his pants off of his feet and clambered over the cupholder into the driver's seat, supporting himself on all fours over Judy. He had never been so grateful for having a car meant for larger mammals.

"Lemme guess, ladies first?" he asked, his erection bobbing dangerously close to her opening.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from a gentlemammal such as yourself," she answered as he slowly lowered himself to the floor below the steering wheel.

"Some independent woman you are." That earned him two fur covered legs wrapping firmly behind his head and attempting to slam his snout into the seat in front of him. Nick quickly pushed up off the floor, redirecting himself so that he was pulled into her crotch. With his nose surrounded by the scent glands located near her sex, he inhaled hungrily and looked up at Judy with a dopey grin on his muzzle while his body struggled to figure out what to do with so many good smells. She barely managed to _huff_ in disapproval before breaking down giggling and beginning to scratch the scruff on the back of his neck. Nick purred appreciatively as he opened his jaws to begin his work.

He began with a series of playful nips to her inner thighs, followed by his tongue running up the crevices where her thighs joined her torso, eliciting a shiver from the bunny. He slowly danced around his target, nose nuzzling, tongue licking, teeth nipping, getting ever closer to the increasingly moist folds. When he began to lick across them with his rough tongue, the bunny started to moan and pull him closer with her legs, this time much more gently. Her paws momentarily clenched any of his fur they could as he pushed his snout into her, calmly toying with one of her lips while his breath rolled across it, in and out of his mouth.

She attempted to pull him in closer, but he instead chose to draw back, earning a gasp and noise of disappointment from the bunny.

 _Now she's ready for the main event._

Nick coiled back as far as he could in the still limited space, then shot forwards, grabbing her hips with his paws and lifting them, letting his claws put just a little pressure on her skin. His mouth opened wide, latching onto her torso with his upper jaw trailing up her belly and his lower reaching down so that his teeth poked her buttocks. With purposeful rather than teasing motions, he began once again to slather her lips with his tongue, slowly working it into her. She bucked her hips and pressed further into him, and he responded by tightening his teeth against her just a little more. He could feel her muscles twitching under them now, and quickened his efforts accordingly.

 _I'm not sure I'm gonna be satisfied with just a blowjob after this, regardless of how good Judy is._

Just in time, his dick throbbed against the car seat. It felt like it was going to burst.

 _And I don't know if she'll be satisfied with just this,_ he thought as she bucked against him again. His tongue was fully extended now, exploring the walls of her vagina eagerly. He remembered his paws around then, and began caressing her side with his left while the right began kneading her ass. She shuddered again, the action extending to waves of rolling pressure along his tongue.

"Nick... haaaAAAA… I'm close." Her right paw found his left arm, and after lingering on his taut bicep, slid down it to find his paw and take hold of it. There was still something alien and exciting to him when he felt her small, fuzzy paws in his own padded ones. Her short nails dug into his paw, another spasm wracking her when he moved his mouth to play with her clit for the first time.

 _Shit I'm gonna end up fucking her aren't I?_

His dick throbbed again, more urgently than before. He could even feel the pressure starting to build in his balls.

 _Yep. Shit._

 _Well I gotta finish what I started first, right?_

 _Yeah. Let's go._

He redoubled his efforts, using his paw on her ass to draw her closer to him while she pressed the back of his head with her free paw. His tongue moved erratically as it swirled over and around her clit, darting in and out of her vulva, then repeated the cycle. Just when Judy started to shudder and cry out, Nick sprang up, grabbing her neck in his jaws and using his right paw to guide his dick into her. The surprise at being suddenly filled with cock and having him holding her life in his jaws sent her completely over the edge, and she screamed out his name while a guttural growl rose from his throat.

Nick slowly loosened his bite, drawing back to look directly into her large, lavender eyes. He was panting now. But he wasn't alone– her mouth also hung open as she spoke .

"Oh… my God… Nick…"

"Nghh… sorry, Carrots… couldn't… resist…"

"Nnnnno… I'm… so glad… you didn't…"

Nick leaned in and they locked lips once again, though this time much more actively than before. Their heads and—unconsciously—their tongues began to bob back and forth in tempo with the not-quite-gentle motion of Nick working his hips back and forth. Nick's tail curled around them both as they settled into a comfortable pattern, and one of Judy's free arms went to stroke it, while the other clung to one of Nick's arms, both of which were actively engaged in supporting the fox and his thrusting.

Judy motioned for Nick to roll over so that she could get on top of him. He grinned as he separated his muzzle from hers, and shifted his weight to make the switch. When they moved in attempted unison, it was much less smooth than they had hoped. Nick ended up wedged against the edge of the central console— _the one time this damn car doesn't feel too big_ —and Judy received a solid whack to the head from the steering wheel as they rapidly flipped over. Still, a brief adjustment brought Nick to a half-sitting position on the driver's seat with Judy comfortably on top of him and his dick still deep inside her. She wasted no time beginning to move her hips up and down, and her walls began to contract around him with the rhythm.

The wet sounds as predator met prey were slowly joined by other, carnal noises. The fox's squeaky whines and the rabbit's shuddering grunts, hearkening back to the primordial days before either species could speak, filled the cabin as they approached ecstasy together. Nick's paws grasped her hips as she rode him, pulling her farther down and more quickly up with each stroke. His claws pressed against her skin again, just hard enough to be known. To show that he was a predator. And she was _his._ But not his prey, not anymore. Now, as he growled, whined, and clawed like any stereotypical fox would, he realized he was acting just like he would with a vixen. She was not an outsider, but an equal. A mate.

"I don't think… I'm ever gonna get tired… of how tight you are… Carrots."

"You might… have a little something… to do with that… Nick "Big Dick" Wilde."

"Now that's a nickname… I could get used to."

He shuddered as she came down and teased the edge of his growing knot with her lips, briefly stopping her motions to rest on it and rock her hips back and forth. Normally this was the point for them where Nick would take back control, pinning her against something and furiously fucking her until they were both spent, knotted together, and extremely satisfied. Instead, he lay back and savored the experience for a moment longer, his eyes closed and a genuine grin spreading across his face. Internally, a battle raged as he clenched most of the muscles in his body in cycles causing his dick to twitch and throb as he held himself back a little longer. Slowly, his paws moved to still Judy and his eyes opened lazily.

"Much as I hate to break up the fun, you gotta get off, Judy."

"Huh? Now?"

"Well we can't exactly knot right here and now. Fucking is one thing, but if we're stuck together for upwards of 30 minutes that's a real operational hazard."

"But I wanna!" she huffed back, bouncing once on his dick. Nick winced as the dam came dangerously close to bursting, struggling to lift Judy back off of the base of his cock. It was already to the point where it was an ordeal to get it in or out of her. As he worked to gently pull her off, she tried a new tactic.

"Come on, you're always telling me to loosen up a bit, right? Here's your chance to both metaphorically and literally work on that." She shot him a smug look.

"Har har, very good, Fluff. Now would you mind getting off my dick? It's not exactly easy to just lift you at this point."

"Sure thing, Slick." Nick missed her devilish tone and the glint in her eyes, too focused on the sensation as the pressure slowly let up and the cool air brushed up against his long buried cock. When Judy had almost finished her slow trip up the long shaft, she stopped.

"What gives?" Nick looked up and saw her face.

 _Oh fuck._

"Payback for. For my parents."

The bunny shot down the length of his dick, not pausing as she took it all the way to the hilt, her pussy bulging out as it enveloped his knot. Her breath hitched as he filled her, her whole body pulsing with the warmth. Nick let out a surprised yelp, his back arched, and his ears folded back. His unconscious mind took over, and the muscles of his knot immediately contracted, swelling even larger. His hips were still bucking while jets of semen shot into his mate when they both froze at the click of the radio.

" _Nick, Judy, this is Silas, do you copy?"_

"Oh sweet cheese and crackers," Nick exhaled. Silence filled the cabin for a moment, the only motion being the gentle jumps of Nick's hips and Judy's reflexive intakes of breath as they both stared at each other, wide eyed.

" _Nick, Judy, you there?"_ Judy shook her head and composed herself for a moment before she reached for the radio.

"Silas, this is Judy, what's up?" She clicked off the mic just before Nick's final thrust and spurt drew a muffled squeak from her.

"Close one, huh Carrots?" She gave him a weak thump on the chest in response.

" _Be advised, there is a vehicle that left the staff gate heading your way. Al and I couldn't get a good eye on it. We're counting on you, really Nick, to get us a good description, plates, and direction."_

"Do you want us to pursue?" Judy asked immediately. Her eyes met Nick's again as they silently prayed for a no.

" _Negative. We want Nick here watching the main gate. One of the Precinct 8 cars will come by you in a moment to tail these guys once you give them the details."_

"Roger that, we'll be ready." As soon as she keyed the mic off they enthusiastically high-fived.

"That was fucking close, Carrots. Now do you see why you gotta be smart and calculating about how you break the rules?"

"And where exactly do instincts play into that, Mr. Hustler? Need I remind you that all my risks have paid off excellently?" He shook his head slowly while a smile played at the edges of his mouth.

"Sly, lucky bunny."

"Dumb, hung fox," she replied as she wiggled a little then settled herself, laying down across his long torso. Nick scooted back a bit to give himself a better view out of the windows, then rested his head on top of hers, waiting for the vehicle to arrive. As he wrapped his arms around her, he thought _Nicholas Piberius Wilde, you are one lucky fox._

* * *

 **Author's Note: First off, thank you very much to the awesome people who helped beta this! Special shout-outs to Deejay and Ashes from the r/fanfiction discord! This would be nowhere near as good without all their feedback.**

 **I've been reminded, and I really should have thought of this before, but obviously I owe credit to TGWeaver for his awesome Late Stake comic. Almost from the very beginning I thought I wanted to do an homage to it, and although I mentioned in the past that this chapter would be inspired by it I definitely should mention it here. So thanks Weaver, your hilarious smut has been an inspiration.**

 **Surprisingly, considering this is my first time writing it, the smut flowed out like nothing else has in this fic except chapter 5. I guess I've thought about this scene a lot for a guy who doesn't consider himself a furry. I just ship them really hard. Also, it was a lot of fun. There'll be more smut from me in the future, but not in this fic (most likely). At this point I'm thinking there'll be like three, maybe four more chapters.**

 **P.S. If you want a really good fic to read check out** _ **Ars Moriendi**_ **by twocentnuisance. It's an awesome crime drama that also appears to be the author's first work. It's pretty much what I wish this story could have been—at least in some aspects: it doesn't have any action so far which I knew I wanted from the beginning, and I'm pretty confident in my ability at writing comedy, but he fucking nails the slowburn, mystery, and interactions between predator and prey. Actually I didn't want slowburn either, which is why I don't have it, but still, it's awesome and I wish I had the patience to write good slowburn. Really I'm just gushing over how great he makes the pred/prey interactions, since that's kind of what makes Zootopia unique, and I wish I could have put more of that stuff into this fic.**


	10. Raid

"Alright, we see 'em now. Thanks, Officer Wilde."

" _Don't lose 'em now, okay? I'd hate to have to bail everyone's tail out twice in one night."_

The radio clicked off and the stag replaced the mic in its holder on the dashboard. He shook his head, careful to not entangle his horns with the car's ceiling while the aged box truck drove by their unmarked car. When it had made it a block ahead of them, the horse in the driver's seat quietly pulled out of their parking spot. They kept their headlights off as they passed through the islands of light cast by the streetlamps.

"I still can't believe they let a fox on the force," the horse said after several beats of silence. "I mean, I'm not like some big speciesist, I've got no problem with preds on the force, but a fox?"

"Hey, long as he can do the job, why not, right?" the stag replied. "He'd definitely be better at this than us." He attempted to focus on the vehicle ahead of them again, but it was still just a blurry white shape at this distance, and he knew his partner could only make out a little more. _Damn preds and their hunting eyes._ That was the problem with speciesism: the preds were better at most things. So Dennis Hoofer did his best to remain calm when he saw those teeth and claws and pointed snouts, and in return the predators of Zootopia did their best not to flaunt those features, and life went on—for the most part. His partner, Bucky Ronson, was not quite there yet.

"Yeah, but- shit they're going right. Now what?"

"It's another big street. We can make the turn too. Should we close and hit 'em with a tracker?" Bucky made the turn in silence before responding. Dennis watched the truck. It was slowing down. He turned to say something, but stopped when he felt Bucky apply the brakes. They rolled to a stop on the side of the street as the truck pulled into the driveway of a mechanic's.

If the two horses who stepped out of the truck had noticed the mammals following them, they made no notice of it. Instead, they calmly moved to the back of the truck and opened the cargo door. Bucky grabbed a camera with a telephoto lense, and Dennis picked up a pair of nightvision binoculars. He too was thankful for the tinted windows concealing him and his partner, although not for quite the same reason as the fox who had given them the truck's details. They watched as a light came on and the door to the garage opened. A ram walked out and began helping the horses unload their cargo.

"So, as I was saying, maybe he can do surveillance, but how can he be an effective cop? He's tiny. Besides, we can just use cats or wolves for surveillance. They're at least somewhat trustworthy," Bucky said, his face still buried in the camera. The lense clicked several times, recording the faces of the ram and horses, who were currently lowering an engine block out of the truck on a jack.

"Well if you've seen any of the news he's proven himself more than capable in a fight. He and Hopps took down three horses in a fistfight yesterday. And would you want to get rid of his partner too? She's just a meek little bunny." Dennis found nothing of interest in the back of the truck or the shop's garage, which appeared perfectly ordinary and legitimate. None of the boxes in the back of the truck were large enough to contain a mammal of any significant size.

"There's gotta be something funny going on there. That's ridiculous. The fox and bunny that is. This joint is just a dump." Now the mammals were pulling what appeared to be an axle or driveshaft out of the back of the truck.

"I'm sure either of them would be happy to spar with you tomorrow or when this is all over." Dennis chuckled at the thought of Bucky getting laid out on the mat. He loved his partner, but he could be an ass sometimes, and while he might be big even for a horse, he certainly wasn't the most graceful or skilled paw-to-paw combatant.

Twenty-five minutes later, when the mammals across the street had finished unloading the truck, Dennis and Bucky had yet to observe anything suspicious, and the truck was certainly empty. Around them, other businesses had begun or already completed their early-morning deliveries. It appeared this was merely an arm of one of the Neys' legitimate enterprises. The two radioed in their lackluster findings and prepared to trail the truck again when it left.

* * *

Silas and Al were sitting in another unmarked car several blocks north of Nick and Judy, observing the next corner of the wrecking yard. The two were startled out of their conversation on the merits of enhanced interrogation techniques when the radio squawked on on the channel Silas used to communicate with Ellie Oates.

" _Silas, I just heard back from the pursuit team. Nothing of note. It seems like we just caught a routine delivery."_

"Well, that's unfortunate," the ibex replied, leaning forwards in his seat to look out the windshield as if he would find something there to solve their current predicament.

" _Technically, we do still have probable cause to raid the facility."_

Silas rubbed his snout as he returned to a normal sitting position, still gazing emptily out the window. "That's true, but it's not exactly going to make them easier to find if we start raiding their hideouts. We purposely didn't do that from the start."

" _They can't hide if we catch them here tonight."_

"If. We have no proof that they're actually here."

" _It's the best info we have, and we also know that they're probably going to disappear very soon if we don't catch them. We can't just leave and hope they turn up somewhere else."_

"Alright, and if they're here and we catch them, then what? We don't exactly have anything to charge them with yet." Silas caught the exasperated sigh before it exited his muzzle when he noticed Al giving him a knowing grin. The working relationship between him and Ellie was just that, and nothing more. Silas was an intellectual. He slowly and meticulously built a case through careful detective work, then, once it was airtight, he requested a TUSK raid, and was yet to have one of his marks get away. Ellie opted for a much more brute force method: her organized crime squad had practically turned into a SWAT team, rushing in guns—not tasers—blazing at the first tipoff. It had worked, to an extent, against the brutal Neys, but Silas still found it unbecoming of a detective.

" _They've got to have some of those guns around, that's enough to pin them while we pick their whole organization apart and put them all away for life."_ She had a point, but his conscience demanded he play devil's advocate a little longer.

"But why would they keep contraband at a hideout?"

" _Because they think no one will find them there."_

 _She's got me there,_ he thought.

"Look, it's your precinct and your call, I'm just not sure it's a good idea."

" _Not sure. That means I've almost convinced you, and that's good enough for me. I'm bringing in some backup so we still have someone watching each exit. We'll be going in in about an hour."_ This time Silas did audibly sigh, but before keying the mic back on.

"Roger that. I'll tell my other car."

* * *

Nick and Judy were now creeping along the external wall of the compound. They had worked out a rough plan over the last hour, and were about to execute it. A total of fourteen mammals would be moving through the compound, along with one car full of four in backup, and six more distributed with two at each exit. They were creeping towards the service entrance, where they would meet up with Silas and Al and begin working through that side of the wrecking yard. Nick was carrying one of the shotguns they had brought, but Judy had forgone a longarm in favor of just her tranq pistol.

The two quietly approached the other, larger pair at the opening, and after a brief exchange of hand signals—conducted by Nick on their end and Al on the other—the two pairs moved in, Nick and Judy on the left and Al and Silas on the right. As they did, the cruiser from precinct 8 pulled up to block the exit, a horse and pig climbing out and taking up firing positions behind the vehicle.

Nick and Judy pulled up on either side of the door to a small shack next to a car crusher. Their eyes met.

"Carrots, you hear anything in there?" He twitched his ears towards the building. Judy pressed an ear up against the door, the other flopping down behind her. She listened for a few seconds before pulling back and shaking her head. Nick had found similarly little from his attempt to sniff out the building.

 _Just dust, metal, and oil. Shocker._

"Alright, stack up behind me."

Judy shifted over behind him, pistol held high. Nick reached up for the handle and slowly pushed the door open. He stepped in, sweeping his gun from the open side towards the hinge side of the door. Something caught in the corner of his eye, and in a flash he side-stepped to a crouch, tail sending a bucket and mop flying as he pivoted, gun trained at the corner. Judy popped up right behind him and silence returned as the bucket came to rest. They both realized they were staring at a small mirror mounted over a desk in the building's corner. The two let out a breath in unison as they relaxed.

"Little on edge, huh, Slick?" Judy tapped his belly with her elbow. His stomach muscles were still clenched rock solid.

"Yeah, just trying to make it through the night alive." After a quick look around the room, he reached out and ruffled the fur between her ears as he headed for the door. Judy tapped her foot twice, gave the room one more look, then grabbed the radio off her belt and keyed it.

 _Not that it does much good for me to look around here in the dark._

"Silas, the shack by the car compactor is clear. No one's here, and there's nothing of interest."

* * *

Al and Silas were working their way through what appeared to be the main administrative building in the yard. They were approaching the stairs to the second floor when several gunshots rang out from across the lot.

"Shit, there goes the element of surprise," Al grumbled. He brought his revolver to bear and began ascending the stairs as quietly as a hulking, hoofed mammal could.

"And there goes the rest of it," Silas muttered as he followed him up the stairs, leaping lightly from step to step. His sidearm, an automatic, was also out and ready.

At the top of the stairs they came to a hallway lined with doors on either side. They approached the first on the left and Al motioned for Silas to take position behind him.

"You stay behind me at all times, 'kay, Silas?" he whispered.

"That's unusually kind of you, Al."

"Nah, it's just Bogo'll chew my ass out if you get shot on my watch." Silas answered Al's cheeky grin with a quiet smirk as the two prepared to enter the room. After the door proved to be locked, the boar raised his left leg, and kicked forward, putting all his weight into the door right next to the jamb. Despite the building being built to horse standards, there was more than enough force behind the boar's tough hooves to shatter the wood around the locking mechanism, sending the door swinging open. As he stepped into the room, gun sweeping, a pipe came crashing down on his revolver, wrenching it out of his grasp. In a practiced motion, Al quickly reversed directions, his forward leg slid backwards to bring him fully into the cover offered by the door, one still-throbbing arm shoved Silas further away from the danger, and the other reached into his coat.

By the time the pig stepped into view of the open door, brandishing the pipe again, Al had assumed a fighting stance, a truncheon held on one hoof.

"Silas, stay back. Make my fucking day, Fatass!" The pig growled in response and raised the pipe for a downward swing. Al lunged in, club going high to parry the pipe at the base while he drove his tusks into the pig's neck, simultaneously headbutting him. The pig squealed and staggered back, bringing the pipe down to guard his front.

Again Al advanced, one hoof grabbing for the pipe while the other brought the truncheon crashing down on the pig's wrist. He screamed, and his grip on the pipe went limp. Al jumped back, twisting the pipe out of the pig's grasp and narrowly dodging a right hook. He threw the pipe and club down behind him, raising his hooves in front of him.

"Tough guy, eh?" the pig asked, rubbing his wrist for a moment before assuming a similar stance.

"Al, is this really the best use of our time?" Silas glanced up the hallway again to make sure there was no one lurking in the shadows.

"Let me have this, Silas. It'll be over in a sec. _Hrgggh."_ He took another blow to the ribs before a jab and an attempted foot-stomp sent the pig scurrying back. Silas reholstered his automatic and drew his tranq pistol.

"You have thirty seconds, Al. Starting… now." That prompted a flurry of blows, backing the pig towards a file cabinet. When he hit the drawers, he lowered his head and charged forwards at Al, arms coming around for a tackle. Al's dodge wasn't fast enough to escape completely, but he hit the ground to the side of the pig and wriggled out, stunning him with a sharp kick to the top of the head.

He wheezed as he got to his feet. "I _am_ getting old."

"Thirteen seconds, Al."

"Fuck you, watch-man," the pig grunted out as he struggled to his feet. Al took a couple jogging steps forward and delivered a full-force punt to the pig's head, sending him rolling over onto his other side, still.

"There. Time?" Al was resting, his hooves on his hips. His breath came heavily through his snout, making a snuffling noise. After a moment he trudged over to where he had thrown his truncheon and squatted down to pick it up.

"Seven seconds. Rather crude, though, don't you think?"

"Eh, got the job done. I need to spar with Allen more."

Silas had just zip-tied the pig's legs and arms when they heard the crack of another gunshot, followed by a return shot. Al was leaning in the doorframe now.

"Let's doubletime through these rooms and get out there." The boar nodded and moved out into the hallway.

* * *

Nick and Judy were walking through one of the rows between the mounds of junk when they heard the gunshots. The pair froze. Nick's head instinctively snapped to the direction of the sound, straining for more, but there was little forthcoming. The two went back to checking their immediate surroundings. They both attempted to key their radios, but got only static for their effort.

"We really should have gotten longer-range portable radios," Judy said. They began tentatively advancing again. Judy kept close to Nick, barely able to see anything in the dark patches between the infrequent lights in the yard.

"And we should have synched channels with the Precinct Eight guys. Why didn't we, exactly?"

"Probably because this whole thing was thrown together in the last forty minutes."

"Yeah, but shouldn't better radios be, like, standard issue? The radios we have on the beat are way better than this." Nick made some inarticulate gestures of frustration before coming to a stop. They had reached an intersection, with another building in front of them and a crossroad stretching off in either direction. They stood still while Nick considered their options.

"Those ones only have a range of a few hundred yards, then they relay through the cruiser radio," Judy said, her ears swiveling.

 _I gotta try and be helpful somehow._

"Are we really more than a few hundred yards from Al and Silas? I mean…"

 _Wait, what was that?_

"... and the junk shouldn't interfere…"

 _Shit, that's definitely-_

"Nick, get down!" Judy jumped forwards, tackling Nick. Before they even hit the ground the boom of a rifle filled their ears, kicking up a spurt of dust behind them. Nick wriggled up to an elbow and fired back in the direction of the muzzle flash, a second story window in the building before them. He and Judy scrambled up against the front wall.

"Alright, guess we gotta go in there," Nick said, dusting himself off. Once he had finished, he grasped his shotgun in two paws again and held it in a ready position. Judy likewise lifted her tranq pistol as they slid along the wall to the front door, straining to make out the footfalls of the mammal above them.

Finding the door locked, Nick took a step back. "Get outta the way, Carrots." Instead, she instinctively stacked up behind him once again while he held his shotgun with the muzzle a few inches from the door and aimed at the locking mechanism between the handle and the doorjamb.

 _This better fucking work._

Nick pulled the trigger. The door shook in its frame as the lead pellets ripped through the wood, the twisted metal of the locking mechanism protruding from the jagged hole it had punched out the back of the door. A shoulder check finished the job and sent the door swinging open. Judy immediately went into the gap with her dart gun raised, followed by Nick.

Inside they found a large, dark room with several desks laid out in the open floor space. At the back of the room a hallway led further into the building, and on the far end of the same wall there was a door whose small window pane revealed a stairwell. They quietly ran to cover behind one of the desks as footfalls began sounding in the room overhead. The mammal above them appeared to be milling about rather than heading for the stairs.

Nick poked his head over the top of the desk to survey the room, while Judy was forced to peek around the side. Although he could see the room fairly clearly in the near-complete darkness, broken only by the dim glow coming from the few windows, there was little to actually be seen. Miscellaneous papers were strewn across desks, a commercial printer sat against one wall, and there were no other mammals lurking in any corners. His nose, however, was more useful.

"There're at least two mammals in this building: the deer upstairs, and an opossum somewhere down here," he whispered to Judy. He turned to fully look at her and saw her intently focused on the hallway. He rotated back to face the hallway, catching a hint of a hushed murmur, and the sudden glint as a pair of eyes moved out of sight. "Move!"

He and Judy sprang apart as the first shot ripped through the ceiling and hit the desk they had been crouching behind. Several more followed, then abruptly stopped. Nick was sure if his ears weren't still ringing he would have heard the opossum telling the deer his-

 _No, her. Definitely a her._

targets had moved. He looked for Judy, and upon finding her clicked his teeth once. The sound drew her attention to him, and they exchanged "all good" paw signals. She pointed first to the ceiling, then the hallway, then shrugged. Nick responded by pointing at the hallway. She nodded and began quietly crawling towards it. Nick followed suit, and the two met on either side of the entrance, and were about to enter when a voice called out.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." They froze in their tracks.

"And why's that?" Judy demanded of the void.

"Because if you enter this hallway my friend upstairs and I will make sure it's the last thing you ever do. So, we'll give you a choice-"

"You know, it's really hard to take someone seriously when they try to threaten you from the shadows with no proof that they can follow up on those threats," Nick said. The voice continued, seemingly unperturbed.

"As I was saying, either you die here, or we let you out the front door and you and your cop friends give us safe passage out of here." Nick noticed Judy's face had gone from worried to annoyed to _that Judy face you never want to see looking at you._ He shot her a glance that said _don't do anything stupid_ while he opened his mouth to reply.

"Look friend, I'm sure we'd all-" Judy flew out of his vision into the hallway. Her jump placed her three-quarters of the way up the right wall, and from there she bounded across to the other one before racing down the rest of the length of the hallway.

Judy knew exactly where the voice was coming from and as she approached the last open door on the right she leapt again, her feet bracing as she impacted with the door frame. She attempted to frantically scan the room in the split second between her connection with the wall and her next jump.

 _Of all the times to not have night vision…_

She found herself almost muzzle-to-muzzle with a shocked opossum, who recoiled as Judy flew past him into the room. She had rolled to her feet and put two tranq darts into him before he even finished fumbling with the pistol tucked into his waistband. At almost the same time Nick and the deer upstairs called out, and the phone fell out of the opossum's limp grip.

"Judy, you good?" There was tinge of real worry mixed in with the 'police voice' he insisted on using when dealing with suspects.

"Mike, you okay down there?"

As the opossum slumped over on the ground, Judy turned to the hallway to respond, "You _really_ thought I couldn't take out some punk hiding in the shadows, Nick? I'm offended. And you, upstairs, why don't you come quietly? I hear that at best tranq darts give you a helluva hangover, and bullets tend to be far worse." To her and Nick's surprise, the deer assented. With both their weapons trained on the open door, she came down unarmed just as Silas and Al ran up, with two Precinct Eight detectives not far behind them.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, all the mammals involved in the raid had come together by the front gate. Those arrested, and one killed in the first exchange of gunfire, were with some of the gate watchers waiting to be picked up by reinforcements. Silas clapped his hooves together.

"So, to sum it up: we found nothing immediately actionable, didn't find the animals we were looking for, and completely tipped our hand to the Neys. Brilliant." Ellie looked at the ground as Silas swept his gaze across the assembled mammals, daring someone to correct him. No one did.

* * *

Archibald Ney slammed his cell phone down on the desk he was sitting at, the glass body audibly cracking under the force. The three other horses in the room were all unfazed.

"ZPD just raided the wrecking yard," he said, spitting the words from between clenched jaws.

"Well then, we need to go. Now," one of the other horses said.

"We can't just leave everything," replied Angstrom Ney.

"You have one hour."

* * *

 **I'm going to be writing a Thanksgiving-themed oneshot after this chapter, so no promises of a quick release for chapter 11. After the oneshot though, it'll be full steam ahead to finish this, which should only take two, or maybe three, more chapters.**

 **If you're worried about the story ending, I can say I will almost certainly do a prequel about Nick's life in this continuity at some point, and probably a fluffy epilogue about Judy learning more about Nick and foxes (and maybe his parents), and probably the dreaded meet the parents arc. And probably more cases will be solved by our favorite dynamic duo once I get inspired to properly plan a mystery.**


	11. Exciting Action Finale

The ring of police had semi-dispersed, some Precinct Eight mammals wandering off to attend to other duties, the rest clustering around Ellie Oates to figure out what to do next. Likewise, the Precinct One contingent had congregated around Silas and were now staring at each other blankly, waiting for someone to propose their next course of action.

"It's the warehouse. It has to be. We were so close to picking that in the first place, we just didn't investigate it enough because we got so caught up looking here," Maggie said.

"Explain your reasoning," Silas replied evenly.

All eyes turned to the panthress.

"It's the perfect cover. A completely legit business, decked out with a secret hidey-hole for only the most desperate times. They waited until a routine delivery to make their way over so as to not arouse suspicion. And, in hindsight—no offense, Allen—why would they employ felons at a hideout? You want it to be above suspicion, anonymous, not a place local police would be worried about."

"All solid points. Any counterpoints? We can't afford to make a mistake a second time." The assorted detectives shook their heads. "Then we're agreed. Let me handle Ellie."

Five minutes of distinctly non-professional conversation later, Silas trudged back with a grim look on his face.

"She won't give us any backup, says she has too many other leads to follow. Fucking fieldies," he said as he took up his position in the circle again.

"Fieldies, Silas?" Judy asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, you're not from Zootopia. That's what everyone calls these morons out here in the Meadows. They give all the prey down in Savannah Central a bad name." She noticed Nick giving Silas an approving look.

"What's up, Nick?" Silas asked.

"Any grazer who hates another grazer is a friend to me," Nick responded, arms crossed casually.

"Nick!" Judy exclaimed.

"Ah, come on, Carrots. It's just a joke." She dodged under the paw that reached to scratch her between her ears as the group broke up and headed for their vehicles.

* * *

As Nick and Judy settled into the front of their car, Maggie opened the back door and pushed over enough of the snacks and weapons to fit in the back seat. Once she buckled her seatbelt, she sniffed the air and quirked an eyebrow.

"I'm not even gonna ask," she said in response to the worried glance Nick and Judy exchanged. They breathed a small sigh of relief. "Let's get going, then. We're kind of racing against the clock, remember?"

A moment later Judy had them zooming down the street towards Silas' taillights.

* * *

Silas' voice came on over the radio. _"Alright, slow down, Judy. The warehouse is three blocks ahead then four to the right. We don't have time for protocol or safety right now, so I want to confirm that the three of you are ready for this."_

Nick grabbed the mic, making eye contact with the two other mammals in the car. They both nodded. "Silas, this is Nick. We're ready."

" _Alright, good. We can justify a forced entry since we have reasonable suspicion that they're connected to mammals who engaged officers with deadly force, and we're facing extraordinary circumstances. The plan is to drive right up to the building, bust the nearest door, and start clearing rooms. If there's a gate, we ram it. As soon as we have confirmation the Neys are there, we can bring in the cavalry."_

The two cars made the right turn while Nick keyed the mic again.

"Understood."

" _The warehouse is on the left side. Follow my lead."_

Silas' car sped up, and Judy followed, keeping a few car lengths between them.

The warehouse did end up having a fence. Thankfully, it was only chain-link with razor wire on top. Silas accelerated as he took the left, crashing into the gate at high speed. The chain and padlock held, but the hinges were made of less stern stuff. The two squares crumpled as they were torn off the gateposts, then slid off the top of the car to the side. Judy followed through.

The two cars screeched to a halt at the corner of the building. Doors opened and slammed shut. In a matter of seconds the six ZPD personnel were standing, weapons drawn in every direction. They turned in unison when a door opened and two horses stepped out carrying rifles.

"ZPD, freeze!" Al roared, training his revolver on the first horse's chest.

The first horse froze, but the second one moved to raise his rifle. Judy hit him with a tranq dart. He fell to the ground limp, and the other horse laid his rifle down on the ground while Silas reached into his coat. Before the horse straightened up, Silas tranqed him.

"We don't have time for cuffs. Let's get moving. Avoid alerting anyone for as long as you can."

Going through the door, they found a small room, mostly empty. This led to a short hallway with two more rooms, both also with nothing of interest in them. Al opened the door at the end of the hallway. Maggie and Allen swept through, guns held high.

On the other side of the door was the main warehouse space. In front of them stood five SUVs being loaded by a dozen mammals, mostly horses. Crate and pallet stacks occupied the space to their left, with additional strays dotting the rest of the floor. In the middle of the chaos stood Angstrom Ney, directing the operation. Maggie and Allen spoke in unison.

"Oh, shit."

"Don't just stand there, stop them!" Angstrom shouted, dashing back through a set of double doors in the far wall.

By now, the six ZPD officers had all come into the room, beginning an awkward stand off as they faced the mammals across the large room with weapons drawn. For a few moments no one moved.

"Drop 'em," ordered Silas. He and Judy tranquilized a mammal each before the rest dove for cover. The six of them did the same. "Nick, Judy, go left. Al, Allen, right. Maggie, you and I will cover them. Go!"

Nick and Judy took off low to the ground. As they ran, they heard Silas' dart gun go off a few times, then the loud crack of Maggie's rifle. After that, a cacophony of returning gunfire began.

Nick peeked out from behind the stack of crates, immediately ducking back. Judy was about to ask why when several rounds thudded into the next row of crates behind them, answering her question. The two turned and ran along the aisle, rounding the corner at the end.

They nearly collided with a stag running the opposite direction. Judy instinctively jumped up and kicked the pistol out of his hoof. Another blow to the head sent him careening over. He and Judy both went for the gun, but a swipe of his arm sent her flying into a pallet stacked high with flour sacks. His hoof had just closed around the grip of the pistol when his head turned into a messy pulp on the floor. Judy looked over to Nick, the acrid stench of gunpowder filling her nose, ears still ringing from the loud thud of the gunshot as he calmly chambered his next shell.

"You just– couldn't you have disarmed him or something?" She was shocked by her momentary urge to shy away when he leaned down to help her up. His pupils were slits again.

"I'll take mental trauma later over having you get injured or killed, any day of the week. You okay? We gotta keep moving."

"I'll manage," she said as she got to her feet. She felt around her torso, but found nothing amiss, just dull aches and pains.

They continued down the back wall of the building, checking each aisle as they passed. They caught one glimpse of Al and Allen, on the far side of the building, crouching behind a forklift. Passing another aisle, this one full of boxes of tomatoes and olives, Judy's ears perked at a particular scream among the din. Nick noticed her change in focus and covered their front while turning one ear in the direction she was facing.

"What was that?" he asked.

"I think… I think that was Maggie." She strained to make out more, but she couldn't be sure. Then she heard Silas' voice.

"Officer down at Rawlson and Field. Firefight in progress, Neys spotted. Requesting immediate backup."

"It was," she managed, jaw clenched. Her paws trembled a little as she quickly re-checked her torso, then wrapped them back around the handle of her dart gun. Now it felt awkward, too large and too small at the same time, where it had fit perfectly only moments before.

"Wait, how many rounds do you have?" Nick was already racking the shells out of his shotgun.

She reached down and popped off the cover of the dart pouch on her belt. A quick glance told her she had one left, plus the one in her gun. "Two."

"Samesies." Nick grinned for a moment. "So, basically, we're fucked in any straight up confrontation." He fed the shells back in as he spoke. "I propose, then, that we try to race around these guys and get upstairs to the boss."

"Sounds good."

Nick slunk up to the edge of the last stack, peering around. A flurry of hand signals later, the two were running low to the ground along the back wall of the building. They came up against a row of managerial offices with windows for observing the interior of the building. Judy snuck a glance around the corner and found a horse and a ram firing away at the far side of the warehouse floor.

"Well, we're stuck now, Slick."

"Watch and learn, I used to do this all the time for totally-not-illegal reasons." Nick reached up with his right paw, extending the claw on his index finger. He scored a wide circle into the glass. "Aaaand, voila." He rapped it with a knuckle. The glass didn't budge.

"Nice going, now what?"

"Fuck it. Get ready to run." He punched the center of the circle, shattering most of the window. He was jumping before the glass had finishing falling to the ground, and Judy was right behind him. The adrenaline was very quickly burying any other feelings she had at the moment.

Nick's mind was running a million miles a minute. He was somewhere between anger and fear, and the only way out seemed to be to keep dashing forward. This had to rank in the top three worst situations he'd been in, although definitely not worse than that night with Vinny Guzman. Of all the ways this could go, he was counting very few that ended nicely, and was about to say as much to Judy when she opened the door at the far side of the office and booked a hard left down the hall.

At the end of the hallway they found a freight elevator, and, lacking a better plan, climbed in, hitting the button for the only other floor.

* * *

Jeremy Jackson was regretting his career choice. All throughout the large central room of the second floor, mammals were scurrying to and fro while Archibald and Angstrom Ney bellowed orders. He pried the lid off another crate of rifles, the crowbar cold and hard between his hooves. The ram trudged over to the other side of the room as a stag grabbed a rifle from the crate and began chambering the magazine.

Gun shots continued to ring out downstairs as he crossed the room. He didn't think he could become acclimated to anything so quickly, but in a few short minutes he had stopped flinching at the racket, probably because it would be debilitating given the current rate of fire. Above the din, his head turned as he heard the elevator grinding to a halt and the chime dinging.

All mammals on the floor paused, heads swiveling towards the doors of the elevator as they rattled apart, revealing a fox and a bunny. Everything was silent for a moment, save for a quiet "Oh, shit" that emanated from the elevator. Things started moving again when the dull crump of a gunshot filled the room. The stag who had just grabbed a rifle spun and crumpled to the ground. To his right, a boar collapsed like a sack of potatoes. He vaguely heard mammals start shouting and the metallic rasping of a slide pumping and bolts racking. Another gunshot, then many more, reached his ears from a million miles away. He realized he was no longer standing up, yet he wasn't doing anything else either. He seemed to be floating in limbo as his vision faded and the floor raced up to meet him.

* * *

The initial shock and confusion was quickly washed from Archibald Ney's brain by the first blast of the fox's shotgun. As his men began dropping like flies, he hunched behind a crate and drew his pistol, making eye contact with his brother. Angstrom nodded. Archibald fired a few rounds blindly towards the elevator, then took off towards the back stairs. Angstrom followed.

"Kill them and get downstairs! Schmidt, Castillo, with me!"

* * *

The clattering of hooves told Nick that their target was getting away. The problem was, both he and Judy were out of ammunition.

"Carrots!" he hissed. When he saw her ears turn towards him, he continued as quietly as possible, "They're getting away, we need to move! Now!"

She nodded and turned to the other edge of the crate she was crouched behind. Four mammals were arranged across from them in a rough semi-circle, curving toward the far side of the room. She looked back to Nick over her shoulder. They made eye contact, nodded, then ran.

As soon as she popped out of cover, Judy hit the ground on all fours, scampering erratically towards the nearest mammal to her, a pig. He turned and got off one round—wide left—before she reached him. She considered taking a page from Nick's book and attacking his knees, but decided against it. A bad break could leave someone permanently crippled. She hopped up, for once not having to jump very high, and gave him a solid kick straight on the nose. Another strike to his chest sent the reeling pig to the ground.

She kicked his gun away while she ran past him towards the next mammal, a tall goat. She slid under his legs, expecting another easy takedown, and instead narrowly dodged the butt of his rifle. Sliding back from a kick, she sprinted to her left just ahead of the bullets kicking up dust behind her.

* * *

Nick broke from cover in a sprint on all fours. When the startled burro spotted him and raised his rifle, it was already too late. Nick launched himself at the mammal's upper body, sending them both tumbling to the ground. His paws found their way to the burro's wrists, claws digging in. With a yelp, he released the gun. While the burro pulled himself up to a sitting position, Nick was already swinging the rifle. It connected with a dull thud, and the burro fell back to the ground.

Nick tossed the gun—too large to be anything but unwieldy—into a corner. As he turned back, a horse stepped into view. He stood in a wide, open stance, hooves held out at his side.

"Looks like you've caught me empty-handed, fox. Thankfully, you are too. Wanna see how this goes?"

Nick's only response was a grin and a low, rumbling growl. He saw fear flit across the much larger mammal's eyes for a moment, then the cocksure smirk returned.

Nick rushed at the horse, who carefully side-stepped Nick's attempt at his knee, and Nick found himself rolling to dodge a hoof that stomped onto the floor hard enough to leave a mark in the concrete. He skidded to a stop, claws scratching along the ground, and ran at the horse again.

This time, Nick jumped up, latching onto his opponent's arm. He swung with the horse's attempt to fling him off, using the momentum to send him onto the horse's back. His claws raked through the hard muscles until the horse pivoted with surprising speed. Nick got one arm up before the hoof hit him.

He flew back, hit the ground, didn't stop, tumbled twice end-over-end, and finally came to a rest as he slammed into a crate. He immediately shot off to the side, just ahead of another hoof that kicked into the crate, shattering the wood. He ached all over, and his right arm was numb and hanging half-limp as he pivoted, back on two feet, to face the horse, who looked thoroughly triumphant.

"Not feeling so great now, huh, fox? You know, one of the horses you and your partner beat up yesterday was my brother."

Nick spat.

 _No blood or teeth. That's a good sign._

"Now I know where you get your bad moves from–" He was interrupted when he heard Judy shriek, and the gunfire from across the room started to filter through his ears again. Nick could actually feel his vision fade as the bright colors started to drop away, and everything but the horse got a little darker. "Too bad you're not going to get to see him again."

Before the horse could respond Nick was already running at him again. The now searing pain in his right arm barely even registered as he climbed the equine's body straight up his chest. When he reached the neck, Nick bit. Hard. Then he tore. As soon as he pulled his jaws away, he was greeted by a spray of blood. His thumb instinctively found its way to the other jugular, the long, thick claw hooking into the flesh then ripping out with similar, bloody fanfare. He spat the _meat_ out of his mouth and jumped back to the ground, taking another step back as the horse collapsed in front of him. Then he ran to Judy.

* * *

The gunfire stopped.

 _He's out of ammo. Now's my chance._

Judy ground to a halt and pivoted to face the goat, a smirk on her face. Then he shot her.

The bullet caught her in the thigh, slicing neatly through and exiting the far side without much fuss. The impact spun her to the ground as she cried out. The goat took the opportunity to reload while she struggled back to her feet, clearly favoring her left leg.

She leapt to the side, dodging the first few shots, and barely escaped another burst, but the goat was clearly just toying with her. She kept edging back towards the corner, desperate to put some distance between herself and the slowly advancing goat. Then she heard Nick call out to her.

"JUDY!"

Nick was running past a crate as the goat turned towards the unexpected sound. Nick saw him too late, and the goat's hoof sent Nick on his second, albeit much shorter, tumble. A cruel smile graced the prey's muzzle as he raised his rifle at the half-crumpled predator.

* * *

Nick looked up at the goat.

 _This is the end, isn't it? Finally found a good job and a woman to love, and it all gets taken away. Such was the life of Nicholas Wilde._

The goat's smile faltered as a red pinprick appeared on his chest. Then another. Then three more. His body shook with more impacts as he faltered, his arms falling limp and the rifle clattering to the floor. He took a woozy step, attempted another, and promptly fell to the ground in the rapidly pooling blood. Nick looked over to his right to see Judy lying prone, the pig's rifle in her tiny paws. He struggled to his feet.

"You okay?"

Judy did the same, with a wince. "I'll manage. For now."

"Can you carry that rifle? Because I think we're both in no condition for another fistfight."

"I'll try. What about you?" She began limping forward, dragging the gun along the ground by its grip while Nick picked up the goat's rifle and a couple extra magazines, tossing one to Judy.

"Oh, you know, just a usual Sunday night," Nick said as they reloaded. They both started giggling, then full-on belly laughing as a little bit of the stress drained from their bodies. The laughter quickly transitioned into groaning as the pain caught up to them.

Judy recovered first, hoisting her gun. "Let's go before our mammals get away."

The two managed a slow, stilted jog in the direction the Ney brothers had run.

* * *

Everything was going wrong, but Archibald was still confident he would be able to get out of it all before the noose finished tightening. As he clattered down the fire escape, his mind ran through the plan.

 _Head to the Concordia safe house. Wait til' night. Head to Olive Hill Ranch. Lay low for another day. Take ATVs to Lexville overnight. Local flight to New Hamsterdam. Fly out of the country. Retire to a life of luxury._

He began to tap his hoof impatiently as Schmidt and Castillo fiddled with the release for the ladder at the bottom of the stairs. Eventually, they got it, and the four hooved mammals made their way down the ladder as quickly as they could without falling.

They were running to the getaway car when Castillo looked back at the fire escape.

"Oh, shit, it's the fuzz!"

"You think he calls all cops that, or just us?" Nick asked loudly, his eyes, and rifle, never leaving the cluster of mammals. Next to him, Judy held her rifle braced against the railing.

"All of you are under arrest!" she yelled.

Archibald's rage boiled over in a roar when his compatriots did nothing. Already he could hear sirens closing in. They were running out of time.

He reached into his jacket and drew two pistols, pointing one at each of the officers.

"Oh, come on!" Nick shouted.

"What're you gonna do, officers? I'll shoot at least one of you before you get me. Or you can put the guns down and live to fight crime another day."

"I really don't have time for a standoff. Drop the guns now," Nick said.

"Or what?" Archibald taunted. Two gunshots echoed across the courtyard, and he cried out as pain blossomed in his legs. He dropped the pistols as his legs gave out below him, and he clutched them while moaning on the ground.

"That," Nick deadpanned.

"The rest of you, on your knees with your hooves on your head. Sweatervest, kick those pistols away first," Judy said.

Angstrom complied, sending his brother's weapons skidding across the gravel before hunching down next to him.

"Looks like they proved to be more trouble than you thought," he whispered as the yard was filled with screeching tires and bathed in red and blue light.

* * *

Nick leaned against the hood of a cruiser while Judy sat on top of it. His bloody shirt was balled up under her as a makeshift pillow. A Precinct Eight officer had procured a first-aid kit, but Nick had insisted that he be the one to dress Judy's wound. So far the bandage was holding well. The shirtless, bloody fox was drawing a lot of stares, especially from the medics scurrying back and forth. They had insisted to him twice that Judy was next on the triage list, and that more ambulances would be arriving soon. They'd also said he himself needed to be examined, but he cared far less about that at the moment.

"So, what's with you and kneecapping guys?" Judy asked. Their conversation had been surprisingly light-hearted—no matter the topic—as the adrenaline drained from their systems and the endorphins rushed in.

"I'll have you know I didn't kneecap our good friend Archibald, I shot him in the shins. He should make a full recovery in due time. Otherwise, it's just very effective. Also, it may or may not be a common enforcement technique in the underworld." The last sentence was rushed and under his breath. Not that that would keep Judy from hearing it, or that he didn't want her to hear it. But when he was around her, he felt even more ashamed than normal of his past. She was so good. And he was so… not.

"Well, then it's a good thing I had my scary fox with me, because there were a several times I wouldn't have gotten out of alive without you." She gestured with her arm for him to come closer, and as he leaned his head in, she wrapped him up in a side hug. Nick's tail started beating against the car as he just sat there in her arms, feeling her gentle scratching.

"I wish I could have gotten that fucker before he shot you." Nick's hackles immediately raised at the thought, and Judy gently smoothed down his fur. After a pause, he spoke again. "I guess it wouldn't be a Bruce Wildebeest movie if the heroes didn't get pretty banged up in the process."

"There's the Nick Wilde I know and hate," Judy purred back at his Cheshire grin, intensifying her scratching until Nick himself was purring.

"You know you love me," he replied, snaking a paw up to toy with her ears. The familiar banter was doing much more to put him at ease than any medical assistance could.

"Yes, yes I do. Ah! Nick, stop! My leg!" Nick withdrew his paw, and Judy's squirming stopped.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly.

They had made it.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **First off, many thanks to PugMaster and BookerOfWit for their editing help!**

 **Secondly, I'm real sorry this took so long. I guess I ran into some serious writer's block, as well as just being lazy and writing oneshots instead. Between the December prompts and finals that ate up almost all of my writing time, and then over winter break I was mostly relaxing or doing art, I just didn't get to it enough. I promise the next chapter won't take anywhere near as long as this one.**

 **So, for my action fans, this should be the best chapter yet. I certainly think it is. For the non-action fans, rest assured, there won't be any in the next chapter. Although, I think that little bit at the end turned out much sweeter than I expected it to.**

 **For any gun people out there, I've decided that since these are extra-fancy armor-piercing rounds these rifles shoot, the bullet wouldn't tumble when Judy got shot since she doesn't have enough mass to slow it down that much. So it just makes a neat little hole in our favorite rabbit, and her leg doesn't get so ruined that she's crippled for the rest of the chapter.**

 **P.S. I felt too bad linking a song before or in the middle of the chapter, but I highly recommend you checkout** **"Bad Motherfucker" by the Biting Elbows, it was my anthem while writing the action scenes. I was specifically trying to channel Hardcore Henry, an awesome action movie directed by the guy who did this music video, with soundtrack by the Biting Elbows.**

 **P.P.S. I purposely said "empty-handed," not pawed or something like that. I was convinced by BookerOfWit, who pointed out that Bellwether says "the case is in good hands" to Judy. And it gets awkward to translate too many things from hands to paws, especially since not all mammals have paws.**


	12. After Effects

Judy hobbled out of the physical therapist's office. She had outright refused crutches or a cane, but willpower and pride did nothing to quell the burning pain in her leg, the fact that it felt like a lead weight to drag around, or that it would buckle if she put hardly any weight on it at all with her knee bent. Thankfully, Nick was waiting for her.

He rushed towards her from where he had been standing in the shade, stopping when she held up her paw. She covered the last few steps between them, latching onto him once he was in reach.

"Ah! Not so tight, Carrots. Remember the whole 'multiple cracked ribs' thing?"

"Right, sorry!" She loosened her grip, still a little wobbly.

He wrapped an arm around her as they slowly made their way towards his car. "So, how was your first therapy session?" he asked.

"Painful. They said I should be mostly fine within a week, but it'll take maybe a month to fully recover." After they reached the car, there was a moment of fussing. Judy eventually let Nick pick her up and place her in the seat. She glared at him as he stifled a grunt of pain. "I'll get out on my own," she said pointedly, giving him a very Judy Hopps smile.

"Be my guest," he said, padding around to the driver's side.

"Aren't you gonna close my door?" Judy called after him.

Nick shot her a shit-eating grin as he opened his door. "You're a big rabbit, you can do it yourself."

Judy harrumphed, leaning out of her seat, but the door handle remained just out of reach. She looked back, sticking her tongue out as Nick watched with amusement. She stretched a bit further, grabbed the handle, and slammed the door closed with a vengeance.

"Take it easy on my car, Carrots. I want it to last." They both buckled in after Nick started the car. He pulled out into traffic for the drive back to the precinct.

"Har har. Anyways, what's your prognosis?"

"Take it easy for a week, no serious exercise or heavy lifting for two more."

"So we're both out of commission for now?"

"Yup. I bet Bogo has plenty of paperwork for us to do in the meantime, though."

"Oh, joy."

Nick's car slowly advanced through the heavy traffic as he expertly ducked through side streets, avoided slowdowns, and used a loose definition of yellow lights. After twenty-five minutes of idle chatter and complaining about other drivers, they pulled into the Precinct One parking lot.

* * *

The door swung open and Bogo looked up from his report, watching as Hopps and Wilde entered the room. Wilde was clearly supporting Hopps.

 _So, a cane would be too shameful, but not being carried around everywhere by her fox._

He allowed himself a little smirk as they made their way towards his desk. When it became clear they were going to have trouble getting into the chair together, Bogo motioned for them to stop.

"As you were. This shouldn't take long anyways." He laid the report down and carefully removed his reading glasses, slipping them into his shirt pocket. "Since I don't want to see two of my best officers like this for long…" He paused while they exchanged gleeful smiles. After a moment, he cleared his throat, and they looked back at him.

"As I was saying, since I don't want you incapacitated for long, you'll be on desk duty for now. You have plenty of paperwork to fill out anyways."

"We won't let you down, Chief!" Hopps remained enthusiastic as ever, even at the prospect of a week's worth of bureaucracy. Wilde just nodded in agreement, but he was still smiling.

"Speaking of paperwork, besides all your incident reports, you're both going to have to be approached by Internal Affairs for review of your involvement in deadly shootings, although honestly that shouldn't take long to clear up. Wilde, we're going to want to keep mum about what you did to that horse as much as possible."

The fox coughed and looked down at his feet. Hopps gave him a brief squeeze and looked up at him.

"Some mammals from the DA's office are here to take initial statements from everyone involved. They'll find you at your desks."

"Oh, boy," Nick muttered as they turned for the door.

"Oh, Hopps, Wilde."

The pair turned back to see Bogo gazing at them with the closest thing to a mischievous smile his face could manage.

"Seeing as you have both been injured in the line of duty, and experienced significant emotional trauma…" He paused, enjoying the concern written across the two mammals' faces. "Once you finish all your reports and duties, you'll be getting ten paid days off. Ta-ta!"

Bogo held up his report as a wall to shield himself from Hopps' excessive gratitude until he was once again alone and in peace.

* * *

Nick trudged out of the conference room, dripping with fatigue. His normally proud posture had degenerated to a sad slump, tail dragging across the ground, ears hanging dejectedly off his head rather than eagerly pointing outwards, and eyelids partially-closed in a way that was neither wide awake nor his characteristic smirk. He took a few steps, waited a moment for the door to finish closing, then began muttering curses under his breath. It took him a while to notice Judy.

"Wow, that was a lot longer than mine." She offered him a coffee as she spoke.

Nick lazily grabbed the cup that took her two paws to hold steadily. He had stolen one of the wolves' mugs early on to 'account for his nocturnal instincts.'

"Yeah, I think there are more insurance liabilities when preds kill prey," he said acidly. Still, he straightened up and eagerly sipped the coffee before quickly souring again. "How do I always forget how bad the coffee is here?"

"Because you're a dumb fox." Judy laughed, eliciting a small smile from Nick.

"Let's just hope I wasn't too dumb with what I said in there." He lifted his left arm for Judy to grab onto him. It had been six days since the conclusion of the Ney Case, and while she was mostly walking around on her own now, he had already developed a habit of helping her around.

Judy gently pushed his arm back down. "I'm fine, Slick. At least we're done with the interrogations."

"Now we're on to the paperwork! Woohoo." He barely stopped his jazz paws in time to avoid spilling coffee all over himself.

They made it back to their desks and began working. Stacks of forms slowly diminished, pens scratched, and websites that hadn't been updated in ten years crashed. Nick reached for his coffee mug and found it disappointingly light. Judy ran out of baby carrots to munch on. Nick's eyes glazed over as he filled out the same online form for the third time. His fingers felt numb around the mouse. When it failed to submit again, he threw up his paws and kicked his chair away from the desk, rolling over towards Judy.

"I quit. Wanna hit the break room, Fluff?"

"Sure." Judy got up, stretching out her entire body. "Ugh, we need to learn to take breaks more often. My knees shouldn't be popping when I stand up." She balanced on one leg, stretching and flexing the other, then alternated.

"That's on you. If I keep suggesting breaks, you just call me lazy." Nick gave her a playful shove, tipping her off balance. Judy caught herself on the edge of her desk as he walked out of their cubicle.

"Why, you little–" Judy jumped at him, clinging onto his back with her arms around his neck. The pain in her right leg from supporting herself was worth it as she started to give him a noogie.

"Ah! Cut it out, Carrots!" He swatted at her lightly.

She relented, giving him a kiss on the top of the head before pulling herself up to sit on his shoulders.

"Next time, don't push me while I'm stretching."

"Stop being so adorable when you're off-balance then." He started chuckling and it soon spread to her as he strolled toward the break room, his claws clacking down the long hallways of the Precinct One building. It had very quickly become an unspoken rule—like how no one talked about the betting—that all the officers ignored the couple in their midst. If Bogo was content to let it fly under the radar, then they would too.

This did not stop a good bit of giggling and quick glances as the two went by, especially as conspicuously as now, with Judy sitting on Nick's shoulders and the two animatedly chatting. It also didn't stop some officers from scowling or huffing in protest and turning back to whatever they were working on. But, overall, they were a good-natured bunch, and very much looking forwards to dragging the couple along after work for some ribbing.

Judy hopped off his shoulders as they entered the break room. It was empty; the enormous chairs were strewn around the room, some pulled together in groups away from the two tables. The pair walked towards the coffeemaker in the kitchenette.

"You want me to make the coffee, Fluff?"

"No, just give me a boost and–" Pain shot through Judy's right leg as she took another step. Her face contorted into a grimace before she wrangled it back to a smile. "I'll be–"

"Lost your chance. You can get the next one, Short Stuff." Nick stuck his tongue out at her as he climbed up the cabinets and scampered onto the countertop. "Would you be so kind as to toss me the mugs?"

Judy threw them up and leaned against the cabinet door while the coffeemaker started bubbling. Her ears brushed against one of the handles, perking when she heard Nick begin to hum. He sat down on the edge of the counter, with his tail hanging low and swishing back and forth behind him. It swung before Judy like a pendulum, and her paw began to reach for it while she listened to Nick's low tune.

She grabbed his tail as the coffeemaker chimed that it had finished. Nick yelped and jumped up, wrenching his tail out of her light grasp.

"Warn a guy next time, won't ya!" Nick coiled his tail around himself, stroking it to smooth out the raised fur.

"Sorry! It was just so mesmerizing. What was that tune you were humming anyways?"

"Oh, it was just some old song my mom would sing."

"Speaking of, I was thinking it might be fun to meet your parents."

"Really?" It came out terser than Nick had intended as he handed the mugs down.

"Yeah, I was thinking, since we're gonna have so much time off soon, it'd be fun go meet 'em," she continued as Nick climbed back down the cabinet face. "After that, we could take a day or two off, then head out to the Burrows for a few days. It'd be great!"

"Don't you think it's like a little early for meeting parents? We've only been, um, together for what? A week and a half?" Nick grabbed his mug back from Judy and leaned against the couch next to her.

"I mean, if you don't _waaant_ to-"

"Don't you dare try to guilt trip me!" Nick whipped his free paw up to point at her. They locked eyes for a beat before breaking into giggles.

"I'm not guilt tripping you, just saying that if you _really_ don't think this is gonna work out or you're embarrassed of me, I _guess_ we don't have to meet each other's parents." Judy smirked at him.

"Har-har. Well, if you're so inclined, I guess we can do it. Although you'll have a hard time meeting Dad."

"Why's that?" Judy was sure she was walking into a trap, but sparring with Nick over this would just throw a wrench in her plans when things were going so well.

"Well, he's been dead for most of your adult life," Nick said, taking a sip of coffee.

"Ohmygodimsosorr-"

"Ah ah ah ah ah. It's okay, Judy, it's just a joke. Well, not a joke that he's dead, but you know what I mean." Nick gently pressed a finger against her muzzle as he quieted her, feeling her twitching nose calm. "Anyways, I'll get in touch with Mama Wilde to see when's a good time for us to come over. I'm gonna leave the planning of the Bunnyburrow trip up to you."

It was Judy's turn to take a sip of her coffee, drinking deeply. It left the throat dry and scratchy. Truly awful. She took another sip.

"No worries. This is actually really exciting. I've only been back once since the Nighthowler case. That oughta put Mom and Dad in a good mood, even with you there."

"You paint a beautiful picture of tolerance and cohesion, Officer Hopps."

Judy just leaned against his arm and chuckled.

* * *

The next few days passed in a blur. They would wake up, get ready, clock in, do paperwork for hours on end, clock out, and more or less collapse on the couch in Nick's apartment. Their evenings were filled with takeout, movies, TV, and sleep.

On the afternoon they finally finished, the pair danced into the Precinct One atrium to drop off their last few files to Clawhauser. He informed them with a little too much glee that the chief wanted them to come to the morning briefing tomorrow before starting their vacation, ostensibly to receive a commendation for their work on the Ney Case. They were too caught up in their own celebrations to notice anything was amiss.

Nick stopped at a liquor store on the way back to his apartment. It was as seedy as they come, with a paint job from the '80s at least, missing lights and letters in the sign, and rusted iron bars covering the cracked windows. Inside, dirty linoleum tiles wound through veteran shelves chock full of booze. An old wolverine stood behind the counter with a halo of cigarette packs and lottery tickets behind him. He had a shotgun very obviously poking up from behind the counter next to him.

"What exactly are we doing here, Nick?" Judy whispered.

"Serrano is an old friend. I thought we'd get something to celebrate, maybe play a little drinking game."

They approached the counter, and Nick waved at the stocky predator.

"Ah, Nicholas, long time no see. Glad you're not here cleaning out my shelves anymore, eh?" His ample belly shook beneath his apron as he laughed. It was a rough, gravelly laugh that bared his chunky fangs and shook his long whiskers. "And how'd he trick you here, little lady?"

"We're partners, actually. Just solved a big case, and Nick wanted to celebrate."

"Which is why we came here. I want two of your finest, Serrano."

"Must be quite the occasion then. Go easy on her," Serrano said as he bent down and unlocked a safe hidden beneath the counter. Thick glass bottles clinked against each other and his claws as he rummaged and rearranged for a moment before standing back up and producing two elegant cut-glass bottles of whiskey. He gently placed them on the counter and slid them across.

"What's that gonna cost me?" Nick asked.

"Four hundred."

"Done."

Judy just looked between Nick, the bottles, and the wolverine as Nick counted a few bills out of his wallet and handed them over.

"Catch."

She barely looked over and caught the bottle Nick had tossed at her in time.

"That one's yours."

Once they were back in the car, Judy looked over at Nick, cradling the large bottle in her lap. "Why'd you just accept that price at face value? What happened to Slick Nick the hustler?"

"Judy, if Serrano was going to overcharge me, I wouldn't have a single friend left in the world. Besides, he owes me for singlehandedly keeping him in business for a few years." He started the car and pulled out of their spot. Judy's ears fell.

"So, that wasn't just a joke then."

"Sadly. I told you, I went through a real rough patch after that whole Tundratown wolf business."

They drove back mostly in silence.

* * *

When they got back to Nick's place, he beelined for the couch just like the last few days.

"Aren't we gonna grab some glasses or something?" Judy asked, hesitating halfway across the living room.

"Ah, I don't drink often anymore, but I still do it like the saddest wino in Happytown." He yanked the glass stopper out with his teeth and spat it onto the floor, then took a large swig from the bottle. "Ahhh, that's the good stuff."

"At this point, I don't even know why I'm surprised." Judy crossed to the couch and assumed her customary position in Nick's lap. She pulled her own stopper out, and, after a moment of trepidation, tossed it near Nick's.

"Atta girl. Now, rules," he said, reaching for the remote. "Take a drink every time you laugh. If you're a real emotional bunny, you have to take a big one. Got it?"

"Ha-ha. You're on, Red." Judy took a tentative sip from her own bottle. The whiskey was a light amber, and it went down suspiciously smoothly. A second or two after swallowing, her mouth and throat were engulfed in fire, and the smoky after-taste doubled. She did her best to nonchalantly clear her throat.

"Strong stuff, right? Anyways, winner is whoever finishes their bottle first, or passes out last." He took another drink and turned on 21 Pack Street.

* * *

Nick raised his bottle to his lips again, and was disappointed when nothing dripped out onto his tongue. He moved the bottle away and looked at it. He couldn't quite tell where exactly in space his arm or the bottle were, and the light scintillating off the many surfaces of the bottle only made his head spin worse.

Judy was asleep on his chest. At some point she had unbuttoned his shirt and rolled onto her side, burying her head and paws in his chest fur. Her nose twitched slowly as she took long, soft breaths.

 _Leave it to Judy to remember to sleep on her side even when she's zonked out on more booze than most rabbits should drink in a week._

He gently put his empty bottle down on the floor next to the couch. The loud _thunk_ and jarring in his elbow told him that his perception of gentle might need to be recalibrated. He turned his head, and once the rolling inertia stopped, saw that Judy's bottle was also on the floor, still about a quarter full.

 _Can't let that go to waste._

He slowly—this time actually slowly—leaned forward and grabbed the bottle, then settled back against the arm of the sofa. He downed half of it in one go. When he could feel his tongue again, he let out a quiet "woah."

Turning back to gaze at Judy, he began to pet her head with his right paw while his left still held the bottle. She twitched a bit in her sleep, pushing her head against his fingers. The message was clear. He turned his fingers and pressed his claws against her scalp, scratching and massaged from her brow back to the sweet spot between her ears.

He allowed himself another deep drink when she let out a contented sigh and settled back against his chest. He took the opportunity to stop and switch to his favorite activity: running his fingers through her tail. Now her sleep was so deep that she didn't even react as he marveled at the softness, running the hairs between the pads on his fingers.

He opened his eyes and realized he had nodded off while playing with Judy's tail. The bottle hung empty in his left hand, half on the floor. He let go of it, and his arms wrapped around the bunny on top of him, hugging her close as his head lolled over to the side and he drifted back to sleep.

* * *

"NICK! IT'S 7:15! WAKE UP!"

"Ugh, just five more min– oh, fuck." Nick bolted upright, and immediately regretted it as his head exploded in pain.

"We're just lucky I woke up since we totally forgot to set an alarm. And that we started drinking so early. So, in a way, your terrible habits helped us." She smiled at him.

"How are you smiling instead of being in excruciating pain?" he grumbled.

"Oh, it hurts, really fucking bad," she said, standing up and stepping off the couch. "Now get up, I gotta make sure your uniform is clean enough you don't have to change."

Nick complied and slowly raised himself off the couch. Judy inspected him quickly, re-buttoning and tucking his shirt in in the process, and then he returned the favor and inspected her. Once they were done, he left wordlessly to grab some aspirin from his bathroom, returning with the bottle of pills and two glasses of water.

"I don't think I can drive us. You up to the task, Carrots?"

Judy thought for a moment as she examined the label for the dosage chart. The calculations churned in her mind for a moment before she shook a pill out, considered breaking it in half to get the proper dosage, considered her headache, then swallowed the whole pill.

"Probably not. I'll call a Zuber."

* * *

They got to the precinct with enough time to walk at a leisurely, headache-reducing pace to the bullpen. The pair took their usual seat to an added chorus of stomping and hollering at their first appearance in what felt like months. Bogo arrived shortly with his daily briefing.

"Things are still relatively quiet following the successful conclusion of the Ney Case. I'll be giving out your assignments for today in a moment, but first, I have one special announcement. As I'm sure you all noticed, our two smallest officers are back with us today. What you may not have known, is that our very own Officer Wilde is also quite an accomplished dancer."

Nick's ears perked up, and he looked directly at the chief. Bogo stared back at him, face cold and impassive. Slowly, the corners of his mouth lifted to form a grin. Behind him, the projector screen was slowly descending from the ceiling.

"Sergeant Higgins, if you'd be so kind as to get the lights."

Bogo stepped to the side as the hippo turned off the overhead lights, and a pop beat began to fade in over the speakers embedded around the room.

Nick was in full panic mode as he looked around the room, and saw that many of the other officers were stifling giggles. He looked back and Bogo and saw the buffalo actually had a hoof over his mouth and was shaking with silent laughter.

"Wait, is that Carrot Pop? Why's Bogo playing some old bunny song?" Judy said.

Nick tried to compose himself as he turned to respond to her. On the screen, four rabbits in skimpy sundresses were dancing on a colorful background.

 _Hey hey, Mr. Fox, what are you doing in the garden again?_

 _Hey hey, Mr. Fox, would you take me home to your den?_

"What, does he think just because there's a fox in the music video that it's you? Might as well say I'm one of the bunnies then. I'm gonna talk to him about this afterwards, it's totally specist and inappropriate."

 _Hey hey, Mr. Fox_

 _Hey hey, Mr. Fox_

Nick had to resist the urge to tug on his collar, or better yet, dash out of the room.

 _Hey hey, Mr. Fox, can you be my lover boy?_

"Maybe I should have told you about this sooner…"

 _Hey hey, Mr. Fox, will you be my foxy toy?_

His attempt to continue was cut off by a wall of laughter as a young Nick Wilde danced onto the screen in a tight tanktop and short shorts, his head fur grown and combed into a pompadour. In the corner, Bogo was doubled over and pounding on his thigh while Judy looked between Nick and the screen. Nick slumped forwards onto the desk.

He could barely even hear the song over the laughing and wheezing as he lay there. He perked a bit when he felt Judy lay a paw on the back of his head, and opened one eye to look at her.

"Hey, there's hardly a bunny in the world who can say they got any fox, let alone _the_ Mr. Fox." She smiled down at him, and Nick allowed himself a wan smile. "Plus, this is about the best way I could possibly learn about this since you'd never tell me, you dumb fox."

Nick groaned and began preparing himself for the weeks of ridicule as Judy turned back to watch the rest of the video and continued idly scratching his head.

 _Fin._

 **Author's note: Well, it's finally done, and what a ride it's been. Thanks to all of you who stuck it out to the end, and sorry these last couple chapters took so long.**

 **First off, thanks to the amazing TGWeaver for the Carrot Pop comic that allowed me to have this little thread running through the story. You can check it out** **here,** **or look up his tumblr (warning: NSFW).**

 **This chapter is pretty obviously teasing a sequel since I've had an idea for a real fluffy one for a while. Also, I'd kind of exhausted the whole plot already, and didn't want to resort to another smut scene to pad out this chapter. Now, I wouldn't hold my breath for that sequel if I were you. Feel free to follow me, or, if you're on ao3, the series that I'll add this story to, but if I even do get around to writing that story instead of just drawing (which is what delayed these last two chapters so much), I'm gonna try to write it all before posting so that I don't do this to y'all again where I take so long to update.**

 **If you wanna check out my art, most of which is Zootopia-related, you can follow me on tumblr (since ffn doesn't do links, checkout out pretty-ok-m8 dot tumblr dot com). I'll probably be doing some scenes from this fic once I finish what I'm currently working on.**

 **So yeah, any thoughts or feedback would be appreciated. This was my first fanfic, and pretty much the first significant piece of creative writing I ever did, and it's been a hell of a ride. Hopefully I'll be back with more, better things in the future.**


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